This Love
by Vergil Diva's chevalier
Summary: Takes place after Diva almost kills Riku in the zoo and before she actually kills him on the ship. Diva loses her powers but not her life. Majorly not canon. Angst I think Rated M mainly for language, possibly scary situations and some suggestive material
1. Chapter 1

* * *

This is an older Blood+ fanfiction of mine that I wrote when I was first truly getting into it. Because of this there are several inconsistencies between this and the series itself. I know it isn't very good but I decided I'd at least throw this onto my page so I had more than one story listed. I'm not sure when I'll get around to updating this. It'll really depend on if anyone likes it. Like I said before, this is from when I was first truly getting into Blood+ so if the characters seem different than they are in the actual anime then that is most likely why. It also takes place after Diva has"killed" Riku the first time. (When she drunk from him at the zoo.) But before she kills him later in the series' canon. (Apologies to those who got a spoiler from this.)

P.S. This story isn't as coordinated as the other one I put up. It also kind of "throws you in" to the story so if you don't like reading stories that don't have an explanatory beginning then you might as well look for something else.

* * *

"Aww, Saya, you're so slow." Diva said as she dodged another one of her sister's sword swipes.

It had been her hope that Saya would learn to stop just swinging her sword around but apparantly she hadn't.

As a result, this was beginning to bore her. So Diva closed her eyes and tried dodging her sister's swipes. But it was _still_ too easy. When she simply couldn't stand how boring it was anymore Diva decided to end it.

She stopped moving and, still with her eyes closed, she struck out at where she estimated Saya would be. But there was nothing there. She opened her eyes and saw Saya wasn't even in sight!

"It looks like _you're _the slow one, Diva!" Saya yelled as she swung the sword horizontally towards Diva's chest. Diva caught the blade, but her hands were cut! And Saya's blood was already on the blade. But Diva wasn't dying.

Though Saya was probably as confused as Diva was, she kicked Diva in the chest. Something strange happened. Diva, instead of taking the kick and shrugging it off, was hurtled away toward a window. She broke it, and fell. She saw the sky for a few moments, then saw nothing.

* * *

"What- what happened?" Diva thought out loud, having forgotten the ordeal she just went through. A pain in her hands that was stronger than the rest of her body reminded her. She wished it hadn't. Though the pain in her hands stood out, the pain that wracked the rest of her body was by no means miniscule. She writhed in pain, wondering why her wounds weren't already healed.

"Solomon's blood!" She remembered that he had given her a flask of his blood in case she may need it while he was gone. Diva quickly grabbed for it, but found, with a grimace, that all that waited for her hand was wet broken glass.

Diva moved her aching body so her face was near the bloody glass and saw that there was a very tiny little puddle of the blood. Swiping away the glass, Diva slurped up the blood. However, nothing happened. And the blood didn't taste good. It always had before, but the blood held no distinguished flavor.

Then she realized something. She should have been dead already. Saya's blood had gone into Diva's hands through her wounds. She should have died right there on the spot.

"But why I am I still alive? And why do I feel weak and fragile? What about Solomon's blood? Why has it lost it's flavor?" She didn't know the answers to any of her questions, but had a guess. Was she… human? It would explain why she was still alive, why her body felt so weak, and why Solomon's blood had no real taste anymore.

Perhaps she had turned into a human while she was unconscious.

But then where was Saya? Why hadn't she come to finish Diva off?

"I hate her." Diva said to herself.

Saya always had everything easy, while she'd always had it so hard. And now, on top of everything else, she was human! She didn't know why, but she felt like crying. She had never cried in her whole life. Not once. She had always laughed, sung, or hurt someone else. But now she could do none of those. Her lungs were filled with blood almost to the point of not breathing, so she could not sing, nor laugh. And she had not even the strength of mind to formulate an angry mood.

She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help herself. No matter how tight she shut her eyes, she could feel the salty liquid seeping through her eyes. Like emotions that had been in check for countless years breaking free of their control. The second a tear left her closed eye, she began crying in full force, and she couldn't even stay up on her knees. She landed on her elbows, hard. But the pain was gone. It had melted away with her anger, her control, and everything else she had been in her life. She was lost. Slipping in and out of actual time as she would lose consciousness, then wake up what couldn't have been a minute later. The sun seemed to go down every second to her, yet not even the sun's setting was stopping her tears.

She started to feel dry. Like all the moisture in her body had been used for her tears. But somehow she kept crying.

"Why?" She thought.

"Why am I crying?" Before she could even think of an answer to that question, she heard movement nearby. There were plenty of bushes around where she was, as she'd fallen into the solid, dirt-less area of a garden. But she couldn't tell where the sound had come from. Not with her new human senses that seemed like a butter knife compared to the scalpel that was her previous awareness.

She wanted to say something chilling. Something so frightening that it would scare out whoever was hiding, like she would have previously been able to do without even thinking. Instead, though, she could only manage out a shaky, scared plead.

"Who- who's there?" There were almost instant replies of fiendish laughter coming from one of the larger bushes, near the forest. Four big men walked out of the shadows of the trees, evil smirks on their faces.

They walked towards her, every step they took made her feel less safe.

"We sure did get quite a catch today, didn't we boys?" They all agreed with similar enthusiasm.

"What do you mean, 'catch'?"

She asked, more scared than she had ever been in her life. She couldn't even move as they stopped next to her.

"What we mean is…" One said as he tried to grab her. Diva yelled out as she rolled away from their grasp. All she got for her desperate attempt was more laughter. This time it was mocking her.

"It seems she's quite feisty."

"That's okay. I hear most people like it when they're that way."

The group approached her again, this time all of them were preparing to grab her.

She didn't know what to do. Didn't know what she _could _do. Though Diva had been human for several hours now, at least as far as she could tell, she didn't know how her human body would move.

So when they grabbed at her again, and she put enough force behind her movement that it would have made her old body fly across the whole garden, she was surprised when she made a sudden and short fall to the ground.

A glance back at the group showed that one of them had grabbed her dress, and was now beginning to drag her back towards them.

"No! Let go of me!" Diva cried as she thrashed like a young child trying to get away from their unwanted meal.

However, as expected, the person didn't stop, and pulled her over within easy grasp of all the others. They started grabbing at her, ripping her dress in an attempt to get a grip on her arms, but she couldn't do anything. She didn't even know _why _they were attacking her. But they were, and she felt like crying again.

"What are you doing?!" She heard a familiar voice say from beyond the group. She managed to catch a glance of a strange-looking sword, and a dress.

"Shit! Let's get out of here!" One of them yelled as they all departed.

Diva could clearly see Saya now, and wondered what was worse, being at the mercy of those men, or at that of her own sister? At least this way it would end quickly.

Diva closed her eyes and tried to be as relaxed as possible; facing what she knew was death. But she didn't feel anything for several seconds, and looked up at Saya. She was just standing there, looking at her.

Diva couldn't tell why Saya hadn't slain her yet. Was it because she knew Diva was human? Or was it because of something else?

Diva noticed something dripping down the side of her face and put her hand against it. She _had _been crying after all. That must be why.

However, Diva could feel how weak her body was now that the adrenaline was out of her system, and fell down on her stomach. She was vaguely aware of feet walking towards her as her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.

* * *

Well there you have it. I don't like to make certain things explicite in my stories so come up with your own reason for why they were trying to kidnap Diva. To be honest I'm not sure myself(heheh) but I'm fairly sure that it wasn't for the first reson that probably popped into your head. I also apologize if the name of the story made it seem like it'd be better but I couldn't come up with anything else so... yeah.


	2. Chapter 2

(Brandishes flag of inexperience.) For this reason you are not allowed to flame at me for the possible badness that permeates this entire story. Well, you're asked not to... Well, you're politely asked not to... Eh, here's the next chapter.

* * *

It was much softer than before. That was the first thing Diva noticed as she woke up again. That was because this time she was lying in a bed as opposed to on the ground.

The window let in the last traces of light that came from the sun, and Diva could tell she hadn't been asleep long.

"Where am I?" She thought. It was a room she was unfamiliar with. The floor looked like wood while the rest of the room had a crème coating on it. Except for the also wooden door which now opened.

Saya walked into the room, as did Haji. He, as usual, held the same expressionless face he always did. The strange thing was that Saya held the same expression. Something Diva had never seen her do.

Saya sat down in a chair near the bed that Diva was lying in, and Haji stood silently beside her.

Diva made no noise as she lay there trying to understand what was going on. She opened her mouth to speak, but Saya interrupted her.

"Whatever you're going to say, don't. I'm not sure how I feel about this, so it would probably be in your best interests to stay silent."

Her mouth closed.

Diva tried to move in her bed, but an extreme pain in her back kept her from doing so, and made her cry out slightly.

Terribly embarrassed at the unwanted sound, Diva's gaze flickered up to Saya, who, despite the short speech not a minute before, seemed somewhat concerned.

Then she looked away, down at the bed again.

"Are- You should be careful. I had you brought up here gently, but the wounds you got when you… fell, are still untreated."

"Saya…" Haji spoke up quietly.

"…I noticed a cabinet downstairs that seemed to contain some medicine. If you want, I can go see if there are some painkillers, or perhaps some bandages in it."

For a second it sounded like Saya was going to tell him to go get the supplies, but then she gave an indecisive, but angry scoff.

"That won't be necessary, Haji." She said, seemingly upset.

"…I understand Saya."

Then he was silent.

Though internally there was a part of Diva that wanted to attack Saya for her reluctance to help, Diva decided that she should just be happy she was alive at all. Now that she was completely human, there were more dominant parts of her personality overriding her previous attitude. However, she was still upset enough to decide that she needed those supplies even if she didn't have her sister's _permission _to get them.

"Then I'll get them myself." She said defiantly as she struggled out of the bed.

But her foot got stuck in the sheet and she fell down face-first. This didn't stop her though, and she got up, holding what must be a bruised rib and started making her way down the stairs that led up to the door of the bedroom. When she got downstairs and turned a corner though, Saya and Haji were already there.

"There are only two reasons you're still alive, Diva. The first is because I saw you cry, and felt sorry for you at the time. The second, and main reason, is because now that you're human you can't do much damage to anyone. Still, don't think that means I'll let you just disappear and start killing again."

"For the elder twin, you sure don't hear so well, dear sister. I said that I was going to get those supplies. Not that I was leaving."

"Get back up in your bed." Saya said like she was a little girl trying to escape bedtime.

"I don't need your permission to do anything, Saya. And aren't you being a little cruel?" Saya's eyes flared, and she struck Diva on her face, knocking her back onto the steps.

"You're lecturing _me _on being cruel!? I've never tortured people, or scared them to the point of fright and killed them! How about you?!"

Diva was starting to feel somewhat satisfied at her ability to make her sister angry.

"I won't be doing that anytime soon though, will I?" Diva asked in a teasing manner.

Saya calmed down somewhat.

"No. You won't."

Then she grabbed Diva and pulled her, stumbling, over to a closet. Saya opened the door and threw Diva in. Before she could even get up, Saya slammed the door and locked it.

Diva got up and started banging her fists against the door desperately.

"Let me out! I can't stand the dark!" There was no response. In fact, she could swear she heard Saya walking even further _away _from the door.

Diva could feel something wrapping around her; tendrils belonging to one of her many childhood-imagined monsters. There was some kind of laughing, though she didn't know if it was real or not.

"Nothing to help you now, Diva. No singing, no chevaliers, no powers, no light. Nothing to help you."

She cried out as she banged harder futilely against the door.

"You're ours now, Diva."

* * *

For those of you that have played "The Darkness" I admit, I was under the thrawl of it's creepy and yet cool voice. I didn't intentionally try to incorporate something like that into this but... I wanted to work on it and couldn't come up with anything original. Also, I've created various things about Diva and others that probably aren't true in the actual anime (Diva is afraid of the dark, etc.)


	3. Chapter 3

In case you don't know, any of these long lines after the first one and before the last one signify a change in character perspective, time, etc. I hope some of you can find this story mildly entertaining. If not, why are you reading this? Yes, I thought so. Those that wish to, read on. Those that don't... well, that's kind of self-explanatory.

* * *

Saya walked up the stairs, ignoring her sister's pleads.

She just didn't know what to do.

There was no way to tell if Diva meant what she said, whether it be the words or the screams.

So Saya walked up the stairs to the room and walked over to the bed Diva had been lying in while Haji shut the door behind him.

There was actually some blood in the bed, and Saya was forced to look away.

She didn't know what to do! A part of her wanted to run downstairs and let her sister out and keep her safe. But Saya couldn't be sure if Diva was really any different mentally than she had been before. Diva might just be trying to trick her to make Saya drop her guard. And when people started turning up dead because she had let her love for her sister cloud her better judgment, how would she feel about letting Diva out?

So Saya just pulled all the blankets over the bed and slept on them, ignoring the very slight wet feeling she felt pushing against her from underneath the blankets.

Haji sat down in the chair next to the bed and sat silently.

"Haji, play something for me, will you?"

She heard him opening the case and moments later he began playing. The music helped her concentrate on something other than her raging thoughts, or Diva's pleading screams.

* * *

"Heheheh. All alone, Diva. Nothing to protect you now." Diva heard something whisper into her ears as she continued banging with her numb hands against the door.

Then she felt something on her neck, restricting it.

She let out as loud and desperate a scream as possible, and then moved her hands to her neck to keep the thing from strangling her.

* * *

The scream both woke her up from her short slumber, and made her decision for her. No one could make that kind of scream simply for faking purposes no matter who the actor.

Saya lunged out of bed and towards the door, then hurled herself down the stairs and towards the closet door.

After unlocking it, she opened the door to see Diva, pale as snow, holding her neck like something was strangling her.

Saya rushed over to her and pulled her hands away, there was nothing there but marks.

"She must be hyperventilating." Saya thought.

She dragged Diva out of the dark closet and into the light.

Diva collapsed on her and made them both fall to the floor. Saya's back landed against a wall, so she was forced into a sitting position, while Diva's head was now lying in her lap.

Saya was surprised at the contact. Never in their lives had they ever been in contact other than while fighting. Sitting like this with Diva lying against her felt…nice. It was like they were finally allowed to be normal sisters. And all of the caution, all of the worry, it all disappeared.

Sure Diva still held traces of her old way, but nothing that couldn't be removed with a little love. That was the only reason Diva had turned out the way she was. Because she had no one to love her.

"I… I promise I won't leave. Just, please don't put me back in that closet again." She pleaded, half unconscious from the lack of oxygen in her lungs.

Then she seemed to fall asleep.

Saya just sat there with Diva's head in her lap for a few moments before she noticed Haji was there.

"Haji, go and get those medical supplies you were talking about please."

"Yes, Saya."

Then he walked into another room to find the cabinet.

She looked at Diva's now-sleeping face until Haji came back with the whole cabinet.

Saya had to restrain the laugh.

"I didn't mean get _all_ of them." She said with an amused tone.

"I know. But it seems that all of the supplies were meant for treating injuries. So I though it would be better if I brought the whole thing."

"Well, thank you for your concern. Do you think you could carry Diva upstairs for me? I can get the…"

She stopped to give a slight laugh.

"…cabinet."

He nodded, and they exchanged their cargo.

Once Diva was upstairs and in bed again, Saya asked Haji to leave the room. After he closed the door behind him, she opened the cabinet and brought out some bandages and antibiotics. Then she pulled out some painkillers and set them on the nightstand. Saya took off Diva's dress, or what was left of it anyway, and began applying the antibiotics to her cuts. Once those were somewhat dry, she bandaged the wounds firmly and moved Diva to a non-blood covered part of the bed and pulled a blanket over her, throwing the dress into a basket.

She would have to find Diva some clothes to wear until they could leave. Though Saya couldn't tell how long it would take for Diva to wake up anyway.

After she was done putting away all of the used supplies, Saya quietly left the room and went downstairs with Haji.

They'd wait until she woke up then the three of them could be on their way.

Saya sighed.

Explaining what happened to all of their friends would be tedious to say the least.

* * *

Oh yes, in case any of you wanted to say what you disliked(or liked if you actually did) about this feel free. Just try to keep it at a "decent" level. Being told what is wrong with something I've written is one thing. Seeing "You suck" combined with a variety of other colorful names and things like that is quite another. I've said it before. I did not write this recently. Regardless of that, I realize I still have room to improve. So tell me _how _I can as opposed to how _much _I can please. Thanks. Also, I'll stop complaining about the story after this so there'll be less stuff like this at the end. Lastly, when Saya thought that no one could act a scream like Diva did I wanted to add in parentheses (Well, maybe Denzel Washington.) But somehow I thought that might wreck the mood.


	4. Chapter 4

Diva woke up this time, and she felt much better than before. Though she also felt somewhat cold and wet.

After seeing the medicine cabinet, which she thought was kind of funny, lying near the bed, and seeing the painkillers on the nightstand, Diva guessed the wet feeling was antibiotics. Diva could feel the bandages on her body, but they weren't that restrictive. So she moved the blankets away and started to slide her legs off the bed… when she realized there wasn't anything else on her. She quickly pulled her legs back underneath the warm blankets to take shelter from the general cold of the room. Though the house obviously wasn't in the middle of nowhere, it must have a stove as the main source of heat.

But it was dark, and Diva didn't want to be alone.

"Oh, Divaaaaa? Heheheh." She quickly pulled herself, and her new 'dress' off the bed and moved quickly towards the door.

"You whore. Running around with nothing but blankets as your garments. Heheheh."

"Stop it!" She said out loud in as low a voice as possible.

Then Diva opened the door and saw the light.

The voice stopped talking, and Diva knew she was safe again.

After taking a moment to move the blanket so it covered more of her, and less of her feet, Diva started down the stairs.

She could hear Saya's voice speaking in a room nearby, and started towards it. Diva made it to the doorway of the room, and saw Saya and Haji playing chess.

Saya noticed her, and got up from the chess table.

Diva attempted to make a step forward, but stepped on the blanket and fell forward, the blanket failing to cover her as she fell into the room.

Saya helped her up and asked Haji to look away while she helped Diva get it back on.

Saya helped her over to a couch near the table the chess set was on and sat her down there.

"You didn't have to come down here like that." Saya said softly.

Diva looked down at the floor.

"I… didn't want to be alone. And, it was dark."

Saya seemed to understand.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want to wake you up by turning a lamp on, and I forgot the sun had gone down."

Diva sat there, slightly embraced by Saya for a few moments. Then they pulled apart hesitantly, and looked away for a few seconds.

An awkward silence followed.

"Oh, did you want to play chess?" Saya asked her, trying to break it.

"I think I'm going to try and wake up first. Why don't you two continue playing? I'll watch." Saya nodded and walked back over to her chair and sat down. The two began playing again. Diva enjoyed watching them for some reason. Perhaps it was because it was some kind of activity that she knew Saya and she would be playing together soon.

"Or, maybe it's because it makes you feel like there's someone here other than you and me." She heard a voice say from the top of the stairs, where it was still somewhat dark.

"But you _are _alone, Diva. You always will be. And I will always be waiting for you in the darkness. You used to be too strong to listen to me, but now you can hear me. And we'll have all sorts of fun together. Hahaha!"

Then something came down from the room that she could easily see. An insanely smiling thing that stared directly at her. Directly into her.

Diva backed away from the direction of the stairs, towards the chess table. Saya must have noticed.

In an instant she was at Diva's side.

"What is it?!" Saya shook Diva when she didn't respond, forcing her to look at Saya.

"I… I- I-"

She looked back at the top of the stairs. There was nothing there.

Diva looked down, knowing it would seem like she was crazy if she told Saya what she saw, and heard.

"It's… nothing." She said, giving up.

It was right. There was no one else that could understand her and what she had to deal with. Not even her own sister. She _was _alone. And in the end, she would end up, alone, in the dark.

She couldn't keep herself from crying this time. She fell down into Saya's arms and cried until she thought she would fall asleep.

"No! If I fall asleep, I'll be in darkness! And they might put me back up in that room. Dark, alone." She thought in an instant.

"Please, I just don't want to be alone."

Saya looked over at Haji.

"Haji, let's get some things from the bedroom. We're going to sleep down here tonight."

"Yes, Saya."

"But-" Saya put a finger on her lips.

"Shhh. Don't worry. We'll be _right_ back down. I promise."

Diva reluctantly nodded, then Saya and Haji went upstairs.

Diva pulled her legs up onto the couch and made herself as small as possible.

"Well, at least it's not dark."

There was a loud sputter that came from the basement.

For a second Diva thought something had blown up. Maybe the stove, or the water pump.

But, a second later, Diva's thoughts were silenced. As was her sense of safety.

The power snapped off. The lights extinguished and the instant they did, Diva thought she'd hear that evil smiling thing begin talking again. She sighed in relief when nothing happened and noticed that the blanket had fallen from her foot. She reached down to grab it and tucked it underneath her foot, then sat back up- and saw the insane person that she had seen before, still holding that chilling smile.

"I told you, didn't I, Diva? In the end, you're always alone. And you're always in the dark." Then it reached over towards her.

She screamed at it, but the scream only made it's smile widen more.

She closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears.

All she could do was try and hide. Try and get as small as possible and hope that she would be too small to notice.

"Oh no. Where has Diva gone? Whatever shall I do? Hahahaha!"

Diva felt it get closer, and wished she was dead.

* * *

Saya had been reluctant to continue looking for blankets and pillows when the power went out, but when she heard Diva's scream, Saya was gone. She was down the stairs in two seconds, and at the couch in three.

"Shhh. Don't worry." Saya said as she sat down quickly and pulled Diva to her.

"What's wrong?" She asked Diva as she cried on her shoulder.

"I know you won't believe me, but I saw it. I saw it!"

"Saw what?" She asked, still holding Diva's head against her shoulder.

"A… thing. A strange, smiling thing. It was whispering terrible things to me while I was alone."

"Well, you're not alone now. So it can't be here, can it?" She said, not giving too much thought as to _what _had been bothering her twin as opposed to that it _had _made her scared enough to scream.

Diva stopped crying but stayed in Saya's arms.

"Haji, could you get us a candle please?"

"Yes, Saya." Then he left to find one.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you."

"That's… alright. You came. That's what matters." Saya couldn't help but cry just one tear for her sister's response. They had grown closer in half a day than they had the rest of their lives. The sudden closeness made her feelings for Diva all the more intense, which made her upset that anything had bothered her younger twin. Whether it be real or imaginary.

"I'm afraid that it'll be a little cramped, us lying on the couch together." Diva shook her head; some of the tears from her pale face were sent flying.

"I don't care! Just _please _don't leave me again!"

Saya rocked Diva's head back and forth slowly.

"Shh. Don't worry, I won't. I'm going to stay right here, with you."

Diva smiled hopefully while clutching to Saya.

"Really?!" She said with a certain hope and sadness in her voice that made Saya wish the thing that had bothered Diva was a chiropteran so she could chop it into tiny pieces. And then burn them.

Diva was now nothing more than a scared, helpless child. And on top of that, all of the demons that must have been her friends when she was… different, were now scaring the poor thing half to death.

"Yes. Nothing could tear me away." Diva's grip tightened, as if to hold onto a dream.

Haji walked back into the room holding a lit candle. He set it down on the coffee table near the couch, then said he was going to go and get the beddings, and left.

The sisters sat on the couch together, Saya petting Diva's head as she held onto Saya like she was a part of a ship that was sinking into the sea.

Eventually Haji came back downstairs, holding just about everything that was on the bed but the mattress itself. The bloodied sheets also seemed to be absent.

Saya pulled Diva off the couch as Haji put blankets and a pillow down on it. Then they sat back down on it.

Haji, meanwhile, sat down in a comfortable chair and rested his eyes.

Saya laid Diva down close to the back of the couch, then lied down as well. This way Say was able to hold her sister from one side, while the other was safely 'protected' by the back of the couch.

Though the pillow was large enough to accommodate both of their heads, there might not have even been one as far as Diva was concerned. Saya's shoulder was more than enough pillow for her.

Saya lay there for several minutes just enjoying being near her sister like this. Though she felt bad about why, Saya had to admit she enjoyed having her sister depend on her like this.

Riku had always depended on Kai more, and though he _did _depend on Saya too, she always felt somewhat envious that Kai had someone to protect while she didn't.

But while she enjoyed making Diva feel safe, she was angry that it had to be from something that utterly terrified the poor girl.

"Saya?" Diva asked meekly, and made Saya clutch her more.

"What is it, Diva?"

"I'm cold." She said while shivering. Haji stood up.

"I'll see if I can find some firewood."

Then he left the room.

Diva just tried to bury herself underneath Saya. Saya got up slightly and faced her back up towards the ceiling then covered Diva with her body. Essentially Saya was now covering both Diva's side and top.

Diva looked up into Saya's eyes, then hugged her. It wasn't like their previous embraces. Before Diva had been clutching to her because she was sad. But… now she was hugging Saya because she was happy. Happy that someone was loving her, not just taking care of her because it was their duty.

Saya held Diva up for a few moments, and then lowered both of them all the way down to the cushions. Diva and her still hugged one another, but Saya now lay on top of Diva completely, like an all encompassing shield that would strike back anything that would even dare to approach Diva.

But, again, they were not hugging _because _Saya was protecting Diva, but because they were sisters. And sisters hugged.

* * *

Strange. Though I tend to not be a very emotional person I've seem to have written a rather emotion-filled thing so far. Hopefully I can find out how to "get into" the characters in my stories as opposed to just the emotions they feel.


	5. Chapter 5

There aren't any changes in perspectives in this chapter just so you know.

* * *

She felt something soft brush against her face. The slight tickling feeling caused Diva to open her eyes and see Saya's face close to her own.

The soft thing had been Saya's hair, a strand had fallen on Diva's forehead because of how tightly they were intertwined.

Diva stared at Saya's sleeping face in the morning light that drifted in through the windows and was glad Saya was here. Had it not been for her, Diva might not have lasted the night. Even if the "thing" didn't get her, she probably would have been scared to death by now.

Though the light would now keep her safe from it, Diva wasn't just scared of being alone because of that thing. She just didn't want to be alone, not after all the years she was. However, despite the feeling of not wanting to be alone, there was a desire she had right now that was much stronger; she had to go to the bathroom.

Diva had been so scared, and then so relaxed all night, it had really done a toll on her bladder. So she tried to silently slip away from Saya, not wanting to wake her up. However, when Diva's last hand attempted to leave Saya's grip, the hand wouldn't let go.

Diva stood with her blanket "clothes" on looking at their hands that were still connected.

After a minute, Saya woke up, seeming to either notice her arm had been held out, or that Diva was not next to her.

"Oh, Diva. What are you doing?" She said sleepily.

"I was… going to go to the bathroom, but…" Diva moved their hands in a kind of gesture.

"…I couldn't leave." Saya withdrew her hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Actually, I don't know where the bathroom is."

Saya got up and guided her to the bathroom, then started back towards the living room. However, when Diva opened the door to the windowless bathroom and saw the thing, insane smile aplenty, standing right in front of her, Diva fell back into the hallway.

The thing, though it was still standing near the doorway, wasn't moving. It wasn't talking either. It was just… smiling. Smiling that horrible smile.

Saya was down at Diva's side before she could blink, and asked her what was wrong.

"Is the power back on yet?" Diva asked absentmindedly.

Saya didn't seem to understand, but flicked a switch to check.

No light came on, and that thing was still standing there looking at her!

"I guess not." Saya said, noting it herself.

"I'm sorry to ask, but… could you come into the bathroom with me?"

Saya seemed confused at the question.

"Sure, but why?"

Diva was still staring into the black abyss of the thing's eyes. Though it was primarily about the same shade as a shadow, the black pits of it's eyes were a much deeper, much more potent shade of black. Those teeth though. They were sometimes sparkling white, while other times they were almost yellow. The "state" of it's teeth usually determined how dangerous it was to her. Now, though it had made her heart skip several beats, the thing was obviously no actual threat to her. But, back in the closet, the teeth had been like those of a rotted corpse.

"It- it's _there_." She said, still staring at the thing like it was an approaching semi.

Saya moved her head to see what Diva was looking at, blocking Diva's view.

"I don't see anything."

Then she moved back away, and it was gone again.

Diva sighed, then, with some help from Saya and the wall, made it back to her feet.

"I know it sounds strange, but I've seen it before. When I was alone, in the dark. And, whenever someone else enters, it disappears. It may seem insane to you, but I've _felt _it!" Saya nodded.

"Don't worry; I'll go in with you." The two entered the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

Diva sat down on the toilet, while Saya just stared at one of the walls, pretending to be oblivious as to what Diva was doing so she wouldn't feel so anxious.

After a mostly uneventful amount of time in the bathroom, the two left and went back into the living room.

Haji had his eyes open, and immediately noticed the two coming in. Like he was waiting for their return, which he probably had been. Though while he was obviously relieved that they had come back, he seemed to sense they wanted to be alone together as well.

"We're running low on firewood. I'll go get some more." He said before leaving the living room, then leaving the house entirely.

Saya sat the two of them down on the couch, and then pulled the blankets over the both of them.

"So, I was wondering." Saya started.

Diva was interested, and tilted her head slightly to show it.

"About what?"

"The… 'thing', that you keep seeing. When did you say it shows up?"

Diva was reluctant to talk about the subject, but reasoned that she probably owed Saya at least that.

"Usually I see or hear it when I'm alone, and in the dark. But, like last night and this morning, it showed up when you were around. Though, it can't do anything out of the darkness. That's why it didn't come after me this morning."

"So, it can appear anywhere that's dark."

Diva nodded.

"Has anyone else ever seen it?"

Diva shook her head in contempt.

"That's the worst part. Whenever someone else looks at where it is, it disappears. Nobody but me can hear it either. It's driving me crazy! The thing's making me look like it's nothing but part of my imagination! And I'm not sure if it's just making me _feel _that way, or if it actually _is _just something I came up with!"

Saya put a hand on one of Diva's own.

"It's okay. I understand. How about this then? If it always disappears when someone else looks at it, and I'm always near you, then whenever you see it, just tell me where it is. I'll make it go away."

The last sentence made her feel like a child afraid of a monster under her bed. But it sounded good to her.

"Thank you, Saya. I… I can't do this on my own." Diva meant it, with all of her heart.

"Maybe not, but _we _can."

Diva looked up at Saya's face.

Saya nodded, confirming it further to Diva.

Diva rested against Saya as she often had since last night and they lay on the couch together listening to the fire burning, hearing the oxygen bubbles crackle on the logs from time to time.

"So, when Haji gets back, I wanted to talk about when we're going to leave." Saya brought up quietly.

"I don't have any clothes to wear." Diva commented in a whisper.

"I know. I was thinking that maybe I could go into town and get some clothes for you."

One of Diva's hands came up to Saya's shoulder and held onto it.

"Can I come with you?"

Saya let out a short laugh, and then her expression changed to an upset one as she realized that Diva had been serious. And how she would feel when Saya told her that it wouldn't be a good idea.

"You don't have anything to wear on the way there though."

"But… you said that you wouldn't leave me again!" She said more as a plead than a statement.

"I know. And, I'm sorry. But you can't come with us with nothing but blankets to cover you, and we can't leave until you have some clothes to wear. I was thinking that I could leave soon. That way I could definitely be back before it was dark out."

Diva's hand let go of Saya's shoulder and she stood up.

Saya looked up at her, confused.

"I'll wait for you." She said solemnly, and then headed to the stairs.

She could swear that for just an instant, she saw that smile that the thing wore. Though whether it came out of the darkness of the stairs, or of her mind she couldn't say.

"Wait, isn't it going to be too dark up there for you?"

Diva stopped for a moment, then looked up to her left, where the room was. It was there, waiting for her.

"Do you care?" Diva asked coldly, despite her voice almost breaking.

Then she walked all the way up the stairs, towards the thing.

However, she felt arms grab her, and pull her away from the thing's now grasping hands. Diva and her holder slammed into the wall that ran along the stairs and tumbled down them. Diva was in the person's grip, protected the whole time. When they landed on the floor, she looked up and saw Saya looking fiercely into her eyes.

"I care, Diva." She said, still staring into Diva's eyes. Then her expression softened into a pitying look.

"I _love _you Diva. Of course I care."

Diva looked away.

"Then why were you going to leave me at the mercy of it?" She said, looking up at the smiling thing that now waited for her at the top of the stairs.

Diva was too upset to be scared by it.

"You said you would take care of me. That you love me. But it takes only a minute alone for it to kill me. How can I accept that you care about me, if you would allow me to die?" She asked, more depressed now than upset.

Saya pulled Diva's face to look at hers. The two locked eyes for a moment, then Saya held Diva close to her much the way Diva had clutched to Saya before.

"Diva…" Was all she said before they entered into another long silence.

Then Saya brought both of them up and looked into Diva's eyes.

"Come with me." She said quietly, then held out a hand for Diva to take. After a moment, Diva took the hand, and Saya led her up the stairs again.

The thing was gone.

And as Saya led Diva into the room, Diva noticed the room was brighter now than it had been the day before.

Saya brought Diva over into the middle of the room, and had her stand there. Then Saya came back with a tape measure and scissors. After making some measurements and cutting off the right parts, Diva had a new, albeit somewhat strange looking, dress.

"I know it's not the best dress ever made, but now you'll have something to wear when we go into town." At the sound of the word "we", Diva looked into Saya's eyes and couldn't help but get a sad smile.

Then the two hugged, and went back downstairs.

They played chess with each other until Haji came back with the firewood.

When he announced that there was a heavy snowstorm outside, the three of them decided it would be best for them to wait until tomorrow to go into town.

After the two teamed up on Haji in chess, they were done playing games for a while.

The two sisters sat on the couch together while Haji played a song for them.

For most of the day, the three just sat there, Haji playing his cello, and the two girls just sitting on the couch. Occasionally the sisters would sing to the music. At first it was like a joke. But with the way Diva sung, it couldn't be taken as anything less than serious.

Eventually the sun began to set, and they all watched it together.

Then, when the sun was gone, and the house was once again dependant on candles and logs for light and heat, Haji spent most of his time tending to the fire.

Diva noticed she was starting to get tired.

"Saya, can I lay down?" She asked liked Saya was her overseer.

"Uh, sure."

Saya moved a little bit so Diva could lie down all the way on the couch and started to sit down in a chair.

"Saya, could you stay over here please?" Diva asked meekly. Saya got up then walked over to the couch and sat down next to Diva, who was feeling terribly embarrassed right now about asking Saya to stay near her. Still, Diva had become very dependant on Saya and didn't do much without her. Even when it was light out.

Diva moved her head so it was lying on Saya's lap and Saya began petting her head from the side.

When Haji left to get more firewood, Diva asked Saya if she could help get her out of her dress.

Though it was comfortable because it was made of a blanket, the house didn't have a washing machine and it was all she had to wear.

Saya agreed, and then covered Diva with a blanket and yawned.

"You look tired too." Diva commented, trying to get Saya to lie down.

"I am. But I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute or two."

Diva looked somewhat worried, but before she could say anything, Saya told her she would be back soon, and that the candle was lit and had plenty of wax. So everything would be fine.

After that, Saya walked out of the room and down the hall.

Diva counted every second that Saya was gone.

She instantly looked at any noise that she heard and almost jumped one time when the fire crackled.

But eventually she heard the sound of rushing water through pipes and knew Saya would be coming back soon.

Diva sighed, closing her eyes from the effort of having them open the whole time Saya was gone. But when she opened them, she saw something she didn't expect to see; a black hand moving towards her face.

It took a moment for the hand to reach her, a half a second to knock her over the couch and away from the warm shelter of the blankets, then another whole second for Diva to realize what had just happened.

She saw something hop over the couch, then felt a great pain and pressure on her stomach. Her hands instinctively went to the thing that was applying the pressure and tried to pull it off, but the thing didn't even budge.

Diva looked up at the thing with her fading vision and saw nothing above her. A look down showed her that it had been the top of the couch that was lying on top of her. Diva managed to push the couch up and breathe a bit before Saya came running into the room.

"Diva! What happened?!" Saya said in a hysteric tone as she made it to her twin and helped her move the couch back up.

"I-" That was all Diva could manage with the amount of breath she had at the moment. Saya helped her over to the couch again and covered her with a blanket. Saya waited a moment for Diva to regain her breath then asked her the same question again, only with a calmer, softer voice.

"Something hit me and knocked me off the couch. Then, it landed on me."

"Do you know _what _hit you?" Diva just shook her head in response.

Saya looked around, making sure the thing in question wasn't in the room, then she got a glass of water for Diva to drink.

"Make sure you drink it in small sips." Diva did so and soon felt better.

After she was done with the glass of water, Saya lay her down and put the glass of water in a sink in the kitchen.

When Haji came back, Saya told him about what happened, and the two determined that tonight there would have to be a watch. Though Haji volunteered to take the full watch, Saya said that they should both do it, that way they could keep more of the house safe at the same time.

Haji left the room to begin his rounds and Saya picked up her sword.

"Are you… going to be far away?"

Saya turned towards her with a warm smile and knelt down next to her.

"No. I'll be so close by; you'll be begging me to leave after a few minutes."

Diva giggled despite the situation.

Then Saya kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

At first Diva was having a hard time getting to sleep. But the constant creaking of the wooden floor helped calm her down and sedate her. Every few minutes Saya came back to check on her.

Eventually Diva managed to drift off to sleep.

* * *

It's funny. If I read a story like this from someone I didn't know I'd probably find it boring and mushy regardless of the way it was written. Hm. This has been another public commentary by (runs out of time)


	6. Chapter 6

It was early morning, and they hadn't found a thing.

Though she hated to think it, Saya was wondering if Diva had just imagined the first part. Though there was no proof that her "monster" did or didn't exist, Saya had to admit it seemed more and more likely that the thing was just in her mind. That didn't mean it wasn't a problem. Saya would do whatever she could to help her younger sister with the problem. Still, regardless of whether or not something _had _attacked Diva, Saya was dead tired one way or the other.

So as she set the sword down near the couch and lay down next to Diva, she had to admit it felt like she had just been rolling on a bed of nails, into a pile of silk cushions.

Diva instantly embraced her, even though she was asleep.

Saya just smiled and kissed her little sister on the forehead as she had last night. This time though, it was _Saya _that was going to sleep.

She closed her eyes and leaned into Diva, each sister using the other's warmth to keep themselves cozy.

After a while, Diva woke up and noticed Saya beginning to fall asleep next to her.

"Good morning." Diva said childishly as Saya noticed her awakened state.

"Good night." Saya said, closing her eyes again. Diva giggled.

"Come on now Saya. Play with me! Let's have some fun!" Diva said, taking Saya's hands.

One of Saya's eyes opened in curiosity.

"You're awfully chipper today."

Diva shrugged, still holding her childish smile.

"We're getting new dresses, right? Why shouldn't I be?"

Saya couldn't help but smile.

Diva's happiness and energy was spilling into her. And eventually she was forced to sit up.

"Well, what do you want to play?"

Diva's face lit up even more as she realized she was getting what she wanted.

"Tag!"

Saya was surprised by her request, but agreed.

She stood up, then got Diva's dress for her and helped her into it.

"Now then, who should start?"

Diva looked down at the floor in thought, then smiled devilishly and tapped Saya playfully as she ran away.

"You're it!"

Saya chased after her, as happy as Diva.

Though both were similarly built, Diva's running in a long dress slowed her down somewhat, and Saya managed to ambush her and tag her on the shoulder.

"You're it!" Saya yelled out as she ran away from Diva, who now chased after _her_.

Eventually Saya led her past Haji, who didn't know what was going on.

Still, Diva wanted to win as all children do. So she tagged the unknowing Haji and ran way.

The two sisters laughed impishly as they collided with each other and looked around for Haji. Instead of seeing him enter as they half-expected half-wanted him to, they just heard his quiet voice ask what was going on.

"You have to try and tag one of us! Then you run away from whoever's it!" Saya yelled throughout the house, not sure where he was.

"But you have to be fair! No cheating!" Diva yelled after her.

After a second or two, they began hearing footsteps and giggled together. Then they separated and began running throughout the house.

However, Diva was a bit too oblivious and ran straight into Haji, being knocked to the floor as she was rebounded off him.

"Ow." She said as she rubbed her head.

When she looked up to try and see what she ran into, she noticed it was Haji.

Instantly Diva tried to grab him, but he just jumped out of the way, resulting with her crashing her chin on the floor.

"Owwwww!" She cried out like a little child with a scrape.

"Diva! What's wrong?!" Saya ran into the area that Diva was lying down on and tried to help her up. However, Diva tagged her and ran away, Saya caught a glimpse of her barely damaged chin.

"Hey! You tricked me!" Saya said as she chased after Diva.

"I'm confused." Haji said as he noticed that Saya had gone chasing after Diva while she could have tagged him. He resigned himself to tending to the firewood again, allowing the two sisters to play in peace. Well, undisturbed anyway.

After playing for another half-an-hour, the sisters finally stopped and gave themselves a chance to rest.

"Who..." Diva asked as she took a deep breath and her chest heaved.

"…won?" Saya shook her head; unable to remember.

Saya finally regained enough breath to sit up while Diva just moved herself to lie on top of Saya.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a hot bath."

Diva just purred her agreement, and Saya asked if Haji could heat up a tub.

"I shall start immediately." He said before leaving the room.

The tub of the house was heated by fires lit underneath the tub. It was a strange kind of tub for a fairly modern house but, it was better than no tub at all.

"Do you want to take one first, or should I?"

Diva didn't give an audible response. She just smiled and rubbed herself against the soft fabric of Saya's shirt.

"You have a really nice shirt. It's so soft and comfy." Diva said, oblivious to anything but the shirt.

"Oh, uh thanks."

When Haji came back into the living room and told Saya that he had heated up the tub, she thanked him and went into the bathroom.

Once she got undressed and took a towel out, Saya got in the tub of now hot water and relaxed.

After a few minutes of cleaning herself with the soap, Saya used some shampoo and, since there was no showerhead to use, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and dunked her head underneath the water. For some reason, she didn't feel like taking it out anytime soon.

Saya was good at holding her breath, so she just enjoyed having the water all around her. After at least a minute, Saya took her head out of the water and blinked her eyes a few times. However, she noticed on the first blink that someone else was in the tub with her.

When Saya finished blinking, she realized it was Diva.

"Oh, Diva. What are you doing here?" Saya asked, not thinking too well because of all the hot water.

Diva just giggled.

"That's a silly question. I'm taking a bath!"

Saya blinked again, this time in confusion.

"Uh, yeah. But I thought that _I _was taking a bath first."

"I decided to take a bath _with _you!" She said cheerfully.

"Oh…" Diva frowned and put on a genuine face that most people would attribute to something between a starving puppy, and a depressed cat.

"What, did you not _want _to take a bath with me?" Saya moved over to Diva quickly, causing some water to splash out of the tub.

"No, it's not that. I just wasn't expecting you. I'd love to take a bath with you." Diva beamed again.

"Really?!"

Saya smiled back to her.

"Really."

The two took turns helping to clean each other until it was time to wash Diva's hair; Saya held her up while she soaked her hair in the water. Making her feel like she was floating in the water. While it wasn't a particularly spectacular event if one had learned how to do the back float, to Diva, anything and everything was new and spectacular.

When the two were done taking their bath, they washed their clothes in the bath water and dried them. Then the two put their clothes on, helped the other do her hair, and left the bathroom.

The three decided to travel into town since the weather was better today, though they still had to stay close to each other so Diva, without any actual coat, wouldn't freeze. Though she was terribly cold, Diva had to admit it was beautiful out. The sun was in a certain position in the sky that made the snow glisten so brightly, and it was beginning to melt the snow. Though there were still several feet of it anywhere but on the roads. There were several trees along the length of the road that led into town, and, while admiring the height of one, Diva stepped onto a patch of black ice. She tripped and headed down towards the asphalt, but Saya grabbed her at the last second and pulled her up.

"Try to be more careful, okay?" She asked warmly.

Diva agreed to, but Saya had to remind her several more times after she found nearly every piece of black ice on the road. Eventually Diva was holding onto Saya just to make sure she didn't fall.

When they saw the first buildings, the three quickened their pace.

By about one o'clock the small group was already in town looking for a clothes store. It was Diva who finally found the kind of store they were looking for, and she didn't waste any time getting inside it. As a result, Saya and Haji had to search for her amongst the racks of clothes to make sure she didn't get into trouble. This often meant Saya would have to look for her inside clothes racks when she was hiding. Then, when they _did _find her, she would hurry away like it was a game of hide and seek. Which it probably was to her.

Saya at last managed to ambush Diva in a clothes rack that rested within a nook. Diva came out with somewhat of a pout at the realization she'd been caught.

However, she quickly forgot about this as she found several dresses she liked.

Saya kept reminding her that it was cold outside, and that she should probably get a coat as well, but Diva barely noticed and continued looking for clothes for the majority of the day. Thus she ended up walking home even colder than she had been on the way _into _town. Though Saya made it easier on her by giving Diva her coat, when they arrived at the house after the sun had already begun to set, Saya wasn't very surprised to discover that Diva now had a cold.

Saya put Diva's dresses in a closet, and then came back over to her to see how she was doing.

"Are you too hot, or too cold?" Saya asked, knowing Diva had a fever.

"C- cold." She said, trying to pull more of her dress around her than what existed.

Saya draped a blanket over her and went to get some water. After heating it up a bit so it was lukewarm, she handed it to Diva.

Although the water improved her condition, it didn't make it disappear.

Saya sat down next to her sister and welcomed Diva into her arms, even though she knew Diva would soon just be hot as opposed to cold.

While Diva was sleeping in one of her fever-induced rests, Saya and Haji agreed that it would be best if they left tomorrow.

Now that Diva had some clothes to wear, the only barrier they had was not having a car. But there was probably a local bus service around that could take them somewhere more urban. If there wasn't, they could always call David to come pick them up.

Saya was shocked to realize that Diva wasn't getting hot. In fact, she _still _seemed cold.

"Haji, could you put some more wood in the stove please?"

"Yes, Saya." He said while already moving towards the logs.

Meanwhile, Saya pulled more blankets over Diva's sleeping form and pulled her closer.

Saya hadn't noticed it earlier, but there was a possibility that Diva might even have pneumonia.

Saya and Haji tried to keep her warm on the way back, but it might not have been enough.

It took several hours, but Diva's fever finally started to recede slightly. In another hour that seemed to take a year, Diva's fever was almost nonexistent.

While it usually took a person at least a few days to recover from a cold, Diva's had disappeared in less than half a day.

Saya guessed that it must have something to do with their blood. But if that was the case, did it mean that Diva was going to regain her powers? What did that mean? Would Diva change back to the way she used to be, or stay the same now that she had someone who loved her?

Just as Saya began to get a headache, Diva started coughing in her sleep.

Saya sighed.

"The cold must have just switched gears on her. Lowering her fever and making her cough."

It was going to bother Diva a lot when she woke up, but that meant that she was still definitely human.

Saya decided to go to sleep herself. She hadn't gotten the chance to sleep since two nights ago, and the day hadn't exactly been a relaxed one.

So Saya lay down next to Diva and cuddled with her to help keep her warm, and then fell quickly to sleep.

* * *

Though I recall very little about what my original intentions were while writing this at the time I _do _remember that I had originally intended for Diva to have pneumonia. But after looking at the definition online I, for some reason, decided against it. So, now you know... You're welcome. heheh


	7. Chapter 7

She still felt cold. That was the first thing Diva noticed as she woke up.

While it felt somewhat claustrophobic at first, when Diva realized she was just buried into Saya, she felt better. Both that she wasn't in a tight dark space, and that her sister was there with her. Though as she cuddled against Saya a little bit more, she was mainly glad for the latter. Diva's cuddling woke Saya up, and the two said good morning to each other, in their own ways.

Saya sat up, forcing Diva to wait a bit before hugging Saya again.

* * *

(Short I know. But I guess I changed the perspective without thinking about it at the time.)

"How's your cold doing?" Saya asked her in-between crushing hugs.

"It's gone. All gone!" She said happily.

"Well, that's good." Saya said while attempting to stand up. However, Diva was still weighing her down, and she wasn't showing any signs of letting go.

"Diva, I have to get up now." Saya said calmly.

"Why?" Diva asked in a childish tone.

"Because I have to get ready to go. We're leaving today."

"Why?" Diva asked, giggling a bit.

"We have to get back to the Red shield headquarters." Saya said, just slightly agitated.

"Why?" Diva said, giggling a lot now. Saya wanted to get this over with.

"Because we have to eliminate the chiropterans."

"Why?" Saya sighed.

"Diva, come on, now. I'm too tired to be amused by this." Saya said while attempting to get up again.

"I'm not letting you up!" She said, having created a childish game in her mind. Saya was tired of this though. So, with an effort, she managed to haul both her and Diva off the couch. Surprised by this, Diva let go and fell back onto the couch.

"Awwwwww!" She said, upset that Saya wasn't going to play a game with her right now.

"I'll play with you later once I wake up. Why don't you go pick out a dress for today?" Diva didn't seem to have remembered the dresses until Saya mentioned them, but ran off to find them because she knew Saya wouldn't play.

Haji was stoking the stove, and he said good morning.

He was much easier to talk to in the morning than Diva. Saya swore that sometimes she thought that instead of blood, her sister had liquidated sugar running through her veins.

Saya returned the greeting then went to get some coffee. Saya barely managed to dodge Diva, who was still running around the house trying to find her other dresses.

Saya turned the coffee maker on and waited for it to finish the process of readying her vital morning drink.

In truth, Saya rarely drank coffee. But if she was tired enough, it was something to fall back on.

The time seemed to go by faster when Diva ran into the living room and started moving around at such as pace trying to find the dresses that Saya couldn't resist just watching her. When she left the room after her seventh check, the coffee was finished.

Saya poured the hot coffee into a mug and began taking sips from it.

Diva ran into the room and asked Saya where her dresses were.

"I'll help you find them when I'm done drinking this." Saya said while still taking small sips.

Diva stood silently for a moment, looking at Saya's lips, then the mug, then her lips again, then the mug again.

Once she was done making whatever connection she had been trying to, Diva put a hand under the mug and lifted it up more, making Saya take about half of the cup of coffee down her throat in one gulp.

She almost couldn't breathe for a second, and then stared at Diva, furious.

"There. That's better. Come on, hurry up." Diva said, oblivious to her sister's anger.

"Oh yeah. I think I put them under the couch." Saya said in an attempt to get Diva to leave before she made Saya do something she would regret later.

Diva, strangely gullible, went to check.

Saya almost laughed a few times while seeing her sister's futile attempts to lift up the heavy wooden couch.

She managed to finish her coffee just as Diva gave up trying to lift the couch and actually _looked _under it to see that they weren't there.

"Hey! You lied!" Diva said childishly as always.

Saya walked over to a closet and opened it, pulling out Diva's dresses.

"Here they are. So, which one do you want to wear today?"

It took several minutes for Diva to decide between them all, following no specific elimination process to do so. Eventually she managed to pick one.

"There!" She said, pointing to one, before taking another one.

Saya just sighed and started wrapping her other dresses with something to protect them from the elements once they left.

"Here!" Diva said to her while throwing her old dress right into Saya's face. The dress covered her whole upper body and she was blind to all else but white fabric for a few seconds.

Diva was laughing and saying how funny she looked the whole time.

When Saya finally pulled the dress off her head and looked at Diva with a much less amused expression than what she wore Diva started to run away in fake fear.

"Hey, Diva, do you want to take a bath before we leave for town?"

Diva seemed somewhat confused, but agreed.

"Haji, could you please get ready anything that we'll need when we leave?"

"Yes, Saya. Would you like me to heat up the bath water as well?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. Please do."

Then Saya followed after Diva into the bathroom and began filling the tub with water.

The two stood in silence for a minute while the water emptied into the tub and the fire warmed it up.

"Why are we taking a bath now?" Diva asked, bored with the silence.

"I'm not taking one. It's just you."

Diva seemed hurt, though only slightly.

"You don't want to take a bath with me?" She said with a much more upset tone than a bored one.

"It's not that I don't want to take a bath with you. I just have some things to do, so I don't have time to stay."

Diva looked at her with a sort of half-pleading, half-misbelieving look.

"Wait, you mean you're not staying?" Diva said, already taking a step toward Saya.

"Diva, we have to leave as early as possible, and I still have to find out how we're leaving. I can't do that while soaking in the tub."

"Then I'll wait to take a bath too!"

Diva just wanted to stay near Saya now.

Despite how frustrated Diva had made Saya earlier, she was already feeling bad about this.

"Diva, I'll be right nearby, and the power's already back on. There's nothing that can hurt you." Saya said, trying to make it more comfortable for her.

"That's not true." She said, holding a hand over her heart.

Saya just stood still for a moment. Then she sighed.

"Fine, I'll be in the room with you, but you can't make any noise when I'm talking on the phone, okay?"

Diva instantly beamed and nodded energetically.

The tub was now filled with warm water, and Diva got in.

Saya walked into the other room to get the telephone, and then came right back and stood as far into the room as possible with a corded phone.

Diva seemed happy that Saya was just in the room, and enjoyed every moment of it.

Saya was able to find out when the bus came to the town, when it left, and where it was going.

Then, after Diva was finished with her bath, Saya helped her get dressed and they left the bathroom to get their stuff ready. There wasn't that much really. Saya hadn't come here with anything and Diva never brought anything with her anywhere. So within ten minutes, the group was already on their way down the path that led to the town.

However, this time Saya shared her coat with Diva to make sure that she would stay warmer.

The three made fairly good time; they never stopped because it was so cold outside, though they didn't run because of Diva's tendency to trip on ice.

After arriving in town, the trio took a little while to find the bus stop, but they still had plenty of time before the bus came.

Which, considering the weather, wasn't a very good thing.

However, they couldn't risk letting Diva be in a public place, at least not one where you can actually talk to people like a diner or restaurant. Though she was no longer genocidal, Diva still wasn't the kind most people would appreciate at their Christmas party. This made Saya sad. Diva had social "problems", but she was a sweet girl when given the chance.

So the three sat in one of the small shelters near the bus stop and stayed close together.

Diva was still very cold, and was always asking why they couldn't go into a building.

Fortunately for Saya, which was also saddening, Diva was cold enough that her brain accepted any answer Saya gave.

Eventually the bus came, and they had enough money to pay to get where they wanted to be.

The three sat down in the back of the bus and waited for anyone else to get on that was going to. Luckily, there weren't many.

Diva cuddled against Saya to stay warm, while Haji just sat quietly as he always did.

"Saya?" Diva asked while half asleep.

"What is it Diva?"

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere good. It'll be warm, comfy, and fun."

Diva smiled sleepily.

"That's good."

Saya couldn't help but smile in response.

"Best of all, we can play as many games as you want."

Diva hugged her more tightly, but held the sleepy smile.

"Really?" Saya nodded, though more to herself than Diva.

"Yes. Chutes and ladders, tag, hide-and-seek… anything you want."

Diva only gave a pleasured purr as she slipped into a much deeper resting state.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, and Saya took a little rest herself.

* * *

I've decided that I'll only add another chapter from/to this story when I have at least the same number of it in the one I'm currently working on. It's my way of forcing myself to work as opposed to just sitting back and copy-and-pasting this story online. So there won't be another chapter in this story until I at least get up to chapter eight in the other one. Sorry if anyone liked this. If it makes you feel any better it shouldn't take (too) long.


	8. Chapter 8

"Diva?" Diva wanted to sleep more, but when she recognized it was Saya saying her name, Diva pulled herself out of the depths of her slumber and into a somewhat awake state.

"What?" She managed out.

"The ride's over. It's time for us to get off." Diva let out the sound children make which means both "I don't want to get up" and "Go away". However, in response, Diva felt herself picked up and carried off the bus.

She could instantly tell when they were outside by the freezing temperatures.

"Saya, I thought you said that where we were going was warm?" Diva said, her eyes still closed.

"It is. But I was talking about the actual destination, not the area."

Diva just tried to rest as she was carried towards wherever they were headed.

However, within a few seconds she was asleep.

* * *

Saya looked at Diva every minute or two, smiling while seeing her sleeping in Haji's arms. It was like Diva was still a little child.

The two of them and their "cargo" walked up the long huge steps of Red Shield headquarters. When they finally got to the top of the steps they opened the door that led into the main lobby of the building and entered.

The receptionist instantly seemed to realize who they were and called someone.

In a few minutes David came out of an elevator and started walking towards them.

Once he realized that Haji was holding Diva he became both cautious and probably confused.

"Saya, what's going on?" He asked her, obviously referring to the sleeping girl that had previously been their sworn enemy.

"It's complicated, but basically, while we were fighting, Diva became human. She also seemed to… tone down in terms of her thoughts. So I let her live and brought her here."

David didn't seem to understand completely, but nodded.

"I see. Well Mr. Goldschmidt will be very happy with your return, and about the… good news. I'll have a room prepared for you. But we'll have to take Diva into custody."

Saya stepped in-between him and Diva, though he hadn't approached her.

"No. She's _my _sister and I know she's not a threat. You can do blood tests if you want later to confirm it, but she's human now, and she's… she's just different."

"Saya, this girl has been killing people for decades and you expect me to believe that a fight with you is going to make her change?"

Saya's face was different than usual, even she could tell. It was like when she was ready to fight chiropterans, like she had something to protect.

"No. I'm telling you that she's going to be sleeping with me in my room, not in some cage in a lab. And if you have any objections, we can always go talk to Joel about it."

David obviously wasn't happy at her response, but right now she didn't care about anything but keeping her sister safe and happy. It was being locked up and "in custody" that made her like she was to begin with.

He didn't press it and called for their room. Some "servants" came down and took what luggage they had and led them to their room.

David came with them. As they entered the room, he stood at the doorway.

"Saya, regardless of what you feel, you _do _know she'll have to prove she's different."

It was a statement as opposed to a question.

Then he closed the door on his way out.

Saya knew that, and if given enough time, she was sure it was possible to prepare Diva for whatever tests the Red Shield would come up with for her.

The question was though; did she _want _Diva to be a part of this world now that she was human? Kai, David and Lewis were all human, but they had experience with violence. Diva was like an innocent little child now.

Saya sighed and guessed that it wasn't something she needed to worry about, yet.

Haji lay Diva down on a queen-sized bed, how appropriate.

Saya lay down next to her and looked at her sleeping face.

Though Saya knew she wouldn't have much of a chance to sleep now that she was back at the Red Shield, she decided against sleeping for now and just watched Diva sleep.

For some reason, it calmed her knowing her sister was dreaming soundly. As if on queue, Diva's face turned from smiling to a monotone expression. Though that could be because she was just having a dream or something.

Saya had to go to the bathroom, so she quietly slid her way of the bed and entered the bathroom. She barely had the chance to finish before she heard Diva's whining. Saya hurried but couldn't make it out the door before Diva began crying out in her sleep at some horrible nightmare she was having now. Saya was next to her the second after she opened the bathroom door and shook her gently to wake her up.

When Diva awoke, she instantly tried to leap past Saya; apparently trying to get away from her nightmare. Saya stopped her and just held her still and tried to calm her down.

"Don't worry. You just had a bad dream. Everything's okay now." Diva stopped trying to escape, but didn't retreat from the safety of Saya's arms.

"Where are we?"

"A room in a Red Shield headquarters."

"But they want to hurt me."

"No. It was just because of what you were doing… before. Now they have no reason to hurt you. And besides, even if they tried, I wouldn't let them lay a finger on you." Diva gripped Saya tighter.

"Now, why don't you lie back down and try to get back to sleep?" Diva's grip turned into a bear hug.

"No! I don't want to go back!" Saya just rubbed Diva's back in an attempt to calm her down.

"Shhh. Don't worry. I'll be right here with you the whole time. Nothing can get you if I'm here." Diva relaxed, believing what Saya truly meant.

She lay back down on the bed and Saya pulled the covers over her. Diva fell asleep against Saya as she had for the majority of the past few days.

"Haji, I'm going to sleep now. If someone knocks or calls and I don't wake up, please wake me."

"As you wish, Saya." Then Saya lay down herself and followed her sister into the dream world.

* * *

I'll go up to chapter 11 with this eventually, regardless of responses. But If I don't get any reviews on this or something like that I think I'll just leave it at that. I don't personally dislike this fanfiction(which is good because it'd make me feel like a complete jackass if I did.) but someone has already told me that they liked the other one so unless someone reviews this or whatever it will become a much-more-secondary thing compared to the other story.


	9. Chapter 9

It seems that I don't have enough pre-done text left to make it up to chapter eleven, though its still possible. Like I said before, if you like this story, review it or something so I know that you like it. Otherwise its not going to be a big priority. (Note: Despite appearances, this is not just some underhanded attempt to get you to review in order to get more of an already-done story.)

* * *

When Diva woke up, Saya was gone. At first she was frightened, but the light was on, so that wasn't a problem. Then she was anxious. Diva looked around the room for something to calm her down but she couldn't until she saw Haji standing silently near the door. Though she had been around him the whole time they were in that house they hadn't really talked. So when she spoke up it was like a small child saying hello to a new stranger.

"Um, excuse me, where is Saya?" Haji looked directly at her.

"Saya had to go somewhere in the building for an appointment with the Red Shield executives, as I recall."

Diva got out of bed and headed towards the door, intent on finding Saya. However, Haji stepped in front of the door.

"Saya said that you were to stay here so you would be safe."

"But I have to be near Saya!" She cried out.

"She apologizes for having left you, but also said that if she hadn't left, and stayed with you here, then the Red Shield would get nervous, and think you were as you were before. She did it to keep you safe."

Diva didn't try to leave, but was confused. If she left to be with Saya, Saya might get angry with her and stob being around her. But if she stayed here she would have to wait for Saya to come back.

Though her safety would have factored in had she not been Diva, it wasn't something she had even thought about. She just felt she needed to be around Saya.

Eventually Diva relented and sat back down on the bed, trying to come up with something to do. With nothing obvious, Diva resorted to what she always did when she had nothing to do and wasn't tired; she jumped on the bed.

Haji just stared at her with the same blank expression he always did.

"Come on, play with me!" She said happily, having forgotten everything else.

"I'm afraid I must decline. I do not believe it would be a good idea if you continued that either."

Diva pouted.

"Why?" Then she jumped too high, and into the ceiling. Haji was next to her when she landed and checked the back of her head. Luckily she hadn't jumped hard enough to get anything more than a bump.

"I think perhaps you should stop now." Diva agreed, holding her head, and sat back down on the bed. After a few minutes though, she was bored again.

"This is boring. There's nothing to do."

"If you'd like, I could play for you." She looked at him.

"I'd like that. I have a great song in mind as well."

* * *

"Are you absolutely sure that Diva has changed, Saya?" Joel asked her.

"I'm sure. We were right next to each other for several days, and she never once showed any hint of her old personality."

"How can you be confident that she didn't trick you?"

"Diva was never the kind of person that would have an elaborate scheme of trickery. At least, not anything that required her to act a certain way for a long time. She didn't have the patience for it."

Joel nodded. They seemed to agree on that.

"Still, you are aware that we will have to do some testing to find out if everything is as you said."

"As long as she gets to be free, at least around this building, I don't have a problem with that. She still is very childish, but she isn't cruel anymore."

"Then I will have some people put together a test for Diva to check her."

Saya nodded, and then started to leave.

"Saya?"

She stopped and looked back at the head of the Red Shield.

"I'm glad that you and Diva can be normal sisters now."

Saya was surprised. He had taken the whole report well, but she hadn't expected him to say that.

"Thank you."

Joel seemed to notice something, and after a moment Saya recognized it too; singing. It was Diva singing. But she wasn't singing the song she always had before, it was a much different one. And they could just barely hear the sound of a cello playing behind it. This only seemed to further Joel's belief in what Saya said, and she headed back to the hotel room.

* * *

"You sing beautifully." Haji said after the song ended.

"I love singing. It's so much fun. You play good too."

"Thank you."

Diva sat on the bed, moving her legs back and forth.

"So, what should we do now?" Diva asked Haji while lying back on the bed. As she did, the door to the room opened and Diva bolted up.

Before Saya could even close the door all the way, Diva was attached to her.

"Hello, Diva." Saya said warmly as she closed the door. Diva let go so Saya could turn towards the room.

"Well, I promised you some fun, so what do you want to play?" Diva beamed.

* * *

"Monopoly!" Diva continued to surprise Saya by her strange requests, but didn't deny it could be fun.

"I want Mr. Cello to play too!"

Saya laughed a little bit.

"His name is Haji, Diva."

"Right! I want Mr. Haji Cello to play too!"

Saya gave up on getting her to just say Haji and asked him if he wanted to play.

"If that is your wish."

She had the game acquired immediately through a phone call. She told them that it was an emergency, which wasn't much of an understatement, as if Diva was left to her own devices for fun, the building might not last very long.

Though the person seemed confused, it was done and the game was delivered quickly.

The two sisters unpacked the game and set everything up, then called for Haji to come over so they could play. At first everyone was doing equally as well. However, as the game went on, Haji began winning. He used all of his money to buy every territory he could, and got good luck every time he drew a card. Saya did somewhat well, while Diva was quickly losing money.

"That's not fair! How come you guys never land on _my _spaces?!" She whined.

"Well, maybe if you bought more as opposed to putting hotels on only a handful of places, people would be landing on them more." Diva had only a small block of territories, which, for one reason or another, people always made it past without paying a dime. However, when Saya traded Diva one of her territories for some well-needed money of her own, Diva had all of the red territories. And, as if from a miracle, everyone began landing on the red territories. All of which had hotels on them. In no time, Diva had gone from last place, to first.

Saya had to take a bathroom break, so they stopped the game for a short time.

"If anyone knocks, just open the door for them." Saya said as she closed the bathroom door. Though Diva didn't know why; there hadn't been any visitors since they started playing.

Diva started played her turn, then Haji played his, and they waited for Saya to get done.


	10. Chapter 10

"I thought you said room twenty_ one _Kai!" Riku said as they ran down the hallway towards the room they'd heard Saya was staying in.

There had been something else the person tried to tell them, but they were gone before they could start the sentence.

"Get off my back! It's not like I was listening too much after I heard Saya was here!"

They made it to the room and stopped to catch their breath for a second.

"Just don't freak out when you see her." Kai said to Riku while taking a deep breath.

"Oh yeah. Like I'm the _only _one that'll be really happy when we see her again."

Then the two stood up fully and Riku knocked on the door.

Kai was right behind him.

After a second they heard muffled footsteps and then heard the door unlocked, after that Haji opened the door.

"Hey, Haji! You're back!" Riku said enthusiastically.

Haji regarded them as he always regarded everyone.

"Is Saya in there?" Kai asked, not wanting to wait much longer.

"She is unavailable at the moment; however she will be out soon."

"Well, can we come in?" Riku asked.

Haji waited for a moment, then stepped back, away from the doorway.

The two started to enter the room, but when Haji stepped out of the way and they saw the girl with long black hair and blue eyes that was instantly recognized as Diva sitting at a table in the room, they were frozen still.

"What the hell?!" Kai commented while Riku was unable to even let out a sound.

Diva turned towards them at Kai's comment and held the same expression she had before but for some strange reason, there wasn't that thing behind it that made her frightening. Of course, the two were still scared thoughtless for a few moments. And though Kai was able to regain himself, Riku still couldn't do anything but sweat.

The girl that had almost killed him before was sitting in a chair looking at him like nothing had ever happened.

"Are _these _two playing as well?" She asked Haji enthusiastically.

"They came to see Saya." He replied quietly.

The door to the bathroom opened.

"Sorry it took me a while-" Saya noticed Kai and Riku.

"Oh Kai, Riku, it's good to see you."

Though Kai was now looking at Saya, Riku couldn't take his eyes off of Diva.

"Saya, it's been awhile." He said, trying his best to ignore Diva's presence.

She noticed it.

"Yes. Yes it has." Saya looked like she was trying to come up with a way to tell the brothers what was going on.

Diva noticed that Riku was staring at her.

"Saya, why is this boy looking at me?" Diva asked Saya, oblivious to the current atmosphere of the room, and of what she'd done to Riku.

Kai's hands clenched into fists, though he didn't do anything else.

"Diva, be quiet right now, okay?"

Diva pouted.

"That's not fair! I've been waiting for you to get done and when they come in here, you don't want to play anymore!"

Saya really didn't want this to escalate into something serious. And Kai's now bone-white fists were starting to shake.

"Diva!" She said in a normal tone, but in a scolding manner. Diva looked much more hurt than Saya had intended.

She got on the bed and crawled over into a corner.

Though Saya wanted to apologize immediately, she figured now would be a better time to tell her brothers about what was going on; somewhere else.

"Riku, Kai, will you guys come with me?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure." Kai said with an effort.

The two walked towards the door, and Kai brought Riku with them as they left.

"Haji…" She said, looking at him with an expression that said the rest of her sentence.

"I understand, Saya."

She nodded respectively, then left, closing the door behind her.

They walked down the hall a bit and then stopped in an out-of-of-the-way area.

"Saya, what the hell is Diva doing here?" Kai asked, calmer now then before.

Saya would have been surprised at the suddenness of the question if it hadn't been Kai that asked it.

"Well, it's hard to explain. But, basically, she's different now."

"What do you mean, 'different'?" He asked, still upset but now somewhat curious.

"She's human now, first of all, and second, she's… her personality is just different."

"So… what? She's suddenly excused from what she's done because she's 'different'?"

Kai was now more angry than curious.

"Kai, it's not that simple. Of course she's not _excused _from it, but things _are _different now."

"I don't understand how a little personality change makes things that much different."

"You don't feel the same about what _I've _done."

He was caught off guard.

"I killed all those people back then in Vietnam. And you don't try and get _me _to make amends for it."

"That's because you're-"

"Different?" She said, interrupting him.

He let out a sigh.

"Fine. If you think that she's different like you, I'll try to keep that in mind. But what about Riku?" The two looked down at him. He was still almost completely oblivious to what was going on.

"She doesn't have to be as strong or as quick as she used to be to kill _him_."

"I didn't mean she's _incapable _of killing people. I meant she won't even try."

Kai was getting very frustrated by now and he seemed like he was just going to run back to the hotel room and kill Diva himself.

Seeming to sense his older brother's feelings, Riku spoke up.

"Saya, if you say she's different, I'll believe you!"

Kai was nearly forced back at his surprise of what Riku just said.

"But Riku."

Riku put on as happy a face as he could.

"Don't worry about it Kai, if Saya thinks she's better I'm sure she is."

Saya hugged Riku for his understanding.

However, Kai wasn't adjusting as completely as Riku was.

"Fine. Riku, you have a key. When you're ready to come back I'll be there." Then he walked off.

Riku was disappointed at Kai's inability to understand, but didn't expect his older brother to be any different.

"Don't worry about him. It'll just take a bit longer for him to get comfortable with this."

Saya nodded.

"So Riku, did you want to come back to my room, or should we do something else?"

Riku wasn't sure.

Though he trusted Saya's judgment, he wasn't sure if he was ready to actually be in a room with Diva.

"I'm… not sure."

Saya seemed to understand why he didn't know, but didn't show any sign of being upset.

"Well, then how about we flip for it?" She asked, pulling a quarter out of her back pocket.

Riku decided that was fair enough and agreed.

Saya flicked the coin up into the air, caught it, and flipped it over onto the back of her hand and held it over the coin.

"Heads we go back to my room, tails we go somewhere else."

Riku nodded, and Saya pulled her covering hand away.

It was heads.

Riku accepted the flip and they walked back to Saya's room.

Saya opened the door and walked into the room.

Diva was still lying on the bed, facing the wall.

The two walked into the main area after Saya closed the door.

Haji was sitting silently in a chair cleaning his cello.

"Diva, I'm sorry about before. But how about this; we can play whatever game you want, and I promise we won't stop until we finish it."

Diva quickly moved to sit up and face her at the same time.

"Really?" She said in a tone that showed no hint of being upset. Like a cat a minute after you stepped on it's tail.

Saya couldn't help but smile at her.

"Really."

* * *

Sorry it took me so long to add another chapter, I've been working on other things. It turns out I have enough for another chapter after this one, but I don't I have any more than that. Like I said before, if you like this story(which I assume you somewhat do since you're still reading it.) just tell me that you do and I'll start working on this again. I know it seems like an underhanded way to get a review but since I'm not working on it right now and I _am _working on something else if I'm going to start doing this again I'll require a reason to.


	11. Chapter 11

"Then I want to play blackjack!"

Once again Saya was surprised by Diva's strange game request, but there was a pack of cards that came with the room that had the hotel's design on it so playing wouldn't be a problem.

It was strange. Saya had heard of mints on your pillow, but packs of cards must be something either new or something only the most expensive of hotels gave you.

"Okay, just let me go get them. Why don't you guys clear up the table so we can play?"

Diva nodded happily and started shoving all of the things they had been using back into the box in a hurried fashion.

Saya noted that Riku wasn't moving. But she couldn't tell if he was standing still because he didn't think he could help or if he didn't want to be doing it with Diva. Either way, at least he was staying.

Saya got the pack of cards and walked back over to the table and the two people waiting for her.

The Monopoly box was stuffed with the board, fake money and all of the other accessories. Saya had to keep herself from laughing. Diva had "cleaned" up liked a little child. It was the kind of happy, innocent laziness that just made you want to smile for all you were.

"Diva, what is _that_?" Saya asked, still holding back laughter. Diva looked at the box and then back at Saya, not seeming to notice a problem.

"It's cleaned up."

"What'd you clean it up with? A bow dozer?"

Diva pointed an accusing finger at Riku.

"_He _didn't even help!" Saya was worried that Riku might get upset, but he responded as if Diva was the same as anyone else; he rubbed the back of his head, with a funny expression.

"Sorry." Saya almost gasped from the surprise she felt from his reaction, but then smiled contently.

Riku was taking this _very _well.

"That's okay. I'll clean it up later." Saya said as she sat down in a chair and opened the pack of cards.

"Hey, Haji, do you want to play with us?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, the more the merrier." Saya added with a smile.

Haji put away the cello and came over to sit in the last unoccupied chair.

Saya shuffled the cards and then dealt them to everyone. They all looked at their cards for a second before Diva spoke up.

"How do you play this game?" Saya and Riku looked at Diva with strange expressions, though Riku's was much more subdued.

"You don't know?" Saya asked.

Diva shook her head.

"Then why did you want to play this then?"

Diva shrugged.

"It sounded fun."

Saya shrugged herself then explained it.

"You're given two cards. One is face-up while the other is face-down. The goal of the game is to get as close to twenty-one as possible without going over it. When it comes around to your turn, if you want another card you say 'hit me' and the dealer gives you another card, face-up. You can have as many cards as you want, but they're dealt one at a time."

Diva nodded happily.

"Also, the way the games works is that the first person to get their turn is the one immediately to the right of the dealer. In this case it's Riku. Once his turn is over it will be your turn, then it will be Haji's turn, and then it will finally be my turn. After that we show our cards. Aces can be either eleven or one and if there's a tie the person with the highest card wins. One last thing. If you can get five cards without going over it beats every result except a blackjack."

"'Kay!" Diva remarked happily.

"Riku, do you want any cards?"

Riku looked at his cards.

"I'll take one please."

Saya nodded and flipped over a five, giving it to him.

"Diva?"

She nodded while still smiling.

The card Diva got was a six.

"Haji?"

"No thank you."

Saya took two cards herself which were two and four. Then they all flipped over their cards.

Haji had sixteen, Riku had eighteen, Saya had twenty and Diva had twenty-one.

"A twenty-one on your first try?" Saya asked, mildly surprised but making it seem like she was baffled so Diva would feel better.

It worked.

She nodded her head with great enthusiasm and they restarted. This time Riku was the dealer. He dealt out all of the cards and everyone looked at theirs.

Though Saya was somewhat worried that Riku might have a problem talking to Diva directly he didn't seem to be showing an anxiety yet.

"I'll take one." Diva said happily.

Riku nodded and slid a card out towards Diva.

As Diva pulled the card over herself one of her fingers brushed against Riku's.

Diva hadn't even seemed to notice the contact, but the touch looked like it all but paralyzed Riku.

Haji once again didn't take any cards.

Saya took one and when Riku slid the card over to her she put her hand on top of his to show how thankful she was for this.

Riku gave a shaky smile and Saya pulled the card over to her.

Riku took two cards himself and they all showed their cards.

Saya had seventeen, Haji had nineteen, Riku had twenty and Diva had twenty as well.

"What does that mean?" Diva asked, frowning.

"Well, whoever has the highest card wins." Saya said while looking at them.

The problem was that all the cards were together now.

"I had four cards, and Diva had three so the top three are probably hers and the four below that are probably mine." Riku spoke up.

Saya and Haji didn't say anything even though they knew Riku had put his down last.

Diva didn't seem to notice this and looked at her cards. Her best one was a queen.

Riku looked at his and it was a ten.

"I win again!" Diva said ecstatically.

Everyone was happy for her and Saya knew Riku had done that on purpose.

She smiled contentedly at the knowledge that Riku had already gotten over what had made him hesitant to be around her before. Sure it was likely that he was still afraid of her, and with good initial reason considering why he was. But Riku was trying his best to accommodate Diva into their lives.

They continued playing until they used all the cards in the deck. When Saya told Diva that using all the cards meant the game was done she started to pout.

However, Saya's informing her that they could play another game instantly made her happy again.

But this time Saya was going to pick the game. And she knew just the one that would liven up the day more.

She called for the things that were required, which were delivered fairly quickly.

After that she unpacked them and enjoyed watching Diva's reaction.

"What is _that_?!" Diva asked with a huge amount of curiosity.

"It's called twister."

Diva seemed even more curious now than before. Her eyes widened like a cat's.

"Twist...er?"

Saya couldn't help but laugh just a little bit.

Diva always had such funny reactions to these types of things.

"Yes. You play the game by being on the mat and doing as the spinner says."

Diva tilted her head now.

"One person spins the 'hand' on the board and we go turn-by-turn. So if it's my turn and the board says 'left hand red' then I put my left hand on a red circle.

"Sounds easy." Diva said, still curious.

"Well, we all have to be on the mat at the same time, and we can't move our hands or feet from a certain circle until the board tells us to. And then there are the other people that will be in the way. The game gets much harder as it goes on."

Diva got a kind of grin that Saya couldn't place.

"That's okay. The harder the game is the more fun it is when I win."

Though the way Diva said it was out of character from her usual childish comments it was still somewhat funny.

"So do you want to go first, or should we do something else to decide who goes first?"

Saya asked with a smile.

"I'll go first." Diva said with a grin as she stood on the mat.

Haji, who was the spinner, spun the hand on the board. It pointed at 'right hand red'.

Diva shrugged then knelt down on the mat and touched one of the red spots.

Riku said he would go last so next it was Saya's turn.

Haji spun the hand again and this time it pointed at 'left foot yellow'.

Saya walked over to the mat and put a foot on one of the yellow spots.

When it was Riku's turn the hand pointed at 'right hand green' and Riku did as it said.

After that it was Diva's turn again and she had 'right foot red'.

Saya got 'right foot green' and Riku got 'left hand yellow'.

The game continued, with no one falling down.

But Diva was becoming increasingly upset.

"Why is everyone always avoiding me?" She remarked sadly at how Saya and Riku ended up being almost intertwined while Diva was always avoided when another circle could be used.

"Come on Diva." Saya said, trying to make her feel better.

"It's not like we're avoiding you. When the hand tells us to put a body-part on a circle that's the same color you're on and we don't pick one close to you it's because if we get too close then it'll just make it harder to maneuver. Right Riku?"

Riku gave her a glance and she saw him putting on a happy face for her as he spoke.

"Yeah. It's just coincidence."

Though Saya was happy Riku was willing to lie to keep from hurting Diva's feelings it also meant that he was still nervous about being around her. It wasn't as if he didn't have a reason. Diva had almost killed him before. In fact, Riku _would _have died if Saya hadn't turned him into a chevalier.

But, Diva was different now. Riku could probably understand that, but it wasn't him that Saya was worried about. It was Kai, and all of the other people at Red Shield. They wouldn't believe that Diva had changed just like that. And if that was the case, which it likely was, she would have to make sure that she or Haji stayed near Diva at all the times.

If they were to ever leave her alone while someone was around who had lost a loved one to a chiropteran there was no telling what could happen.

But Saya wouldn't let that happen.

The game continued on.

Saya tried to be as close to Diva as much as possible, while Riku fell down and was out of the game.

Whether Riku had done that by accident or just as a way to avoid Diva without bothering her was something Saya couldn't tell. But she was thankful for him trying.

Eventually the game ended with one of Saya's hands slipping and her falling down; bringing Diva with her.

Though Diva was initially upset that she hadn't won, Saya told her that they were going have dinner soon.

This made her much happier.

"What kind of food do you want?" Saya asked Diva while sitting down next to the phone.

Diva tilted her head.

"The edible kind." Saya laughed a bit at that.

"No I meant the kind of food. Chinese, Italian, you know."

"I don't care. Whatever tastes good." Diva said as she lay back on the bed, having lost interest.

Saya shrugged and picked up the phone, finding a restaurant she liked in the phonebook and dialing the number.

Normally she'd ask anyone else who was in the room what they wanted to eat. But since neither Riku nor Haji ate there wasn't much of a point. And there was no way to tell what Diva meant by "whatever tastes good."

So Saya ordered something that she herself liked.

It was a place that seemed to serve a food similar to the kind she and her family used to eat.

It wasn't the most exquisite-tasting food, at least to her.

But it brought back memories and since Diva was sure to have never eaten it before it might taste better than something she normally ate.

The restaurant said it would take an hour for the food to be ready and also be delivered to the hotel.

"Okay. Thank you. Goodbye." Saya said before she hung up the phone and looked up again.

Diva was sitting up, stomach-down on the bed moving her legs in the air to keep herself occupied.

"So how long is it going take?" Diva asked curiously.

"An hour altogether."

Diva seemed genuinely surprised.

"That long?! Before when I wanted, someone would get it for me right away." Diva said in a childish tone, despite the brat-like way she said it.

"Diva, I know it's not as quick as it used to be when you were around… other people. But it's not being made here, someone has to deliver it, and the restaurant is probably busy. Diva pouted.

"Then what are we going to do for a whole _hour_?!"

"Well, I don't know about you, Diva, but I'm…" Saya said as she got on the bed herself and crawled past Diva to fall on her back, her head landing on a soft pillow.

"…going to take a rest. Haji, could you please let me know when the delivery-man arrives?"

"If that is your wish, Saya."

"What do you want me to do, Saya?" Riku asked innocently.

"I don't want to ask you to do anything Riku. You're my brother after all; not my servant." She tried to say kindly, despite what it sounded like.

Saya felt bad about saying the last part, thinking she may have offended Haji.

But she could almost feel him say it didn't bother him.

Having been alone together for a while the two of them could almost read each others thoughts.

"But I'm your chevalier too now right? I want to help."

Diva seemed surprised.

"Oh, Saya, you turned him into one? Why?" She asked, really not seeming to know the answer.

Saya closed her eyes and calmed herself down.

Then she opened her eyes again and looked at Riku, giving him and apologetic look.

He seemed to understand, though it still shook him.

"Diva, why don't you rest with me? You must be tired too."

"Well, yes. But why won't you tell me why you-"

Saya got up and pulled Diva over to lay down with her, Diva now lying on her side, facing each other.

"Then let's rest together, okay?" Diva just nodded silently, unable to stay focused on being upset now that Saya was embracing her.

Just the soft touch made her become drowsy.

"Okay." Diva spoke sleepily, causing Saya to smile at how cute she sounded.

"Riku, if you want to go back to your room, feel free. But if you want to stay here, please do." Saya said before closing her eyes herself.

She pulled Diva in more and then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Not the best of all my chapters, but it was the last one of the old attempt. As I said, since I got a review I will start working on this again. I'm not sure if the story will be any different now that I'm working on it again, but I'll try to stay as close to the original as possible(the games made it real hard for me to continue, since I'm no good at making them interesting.) Thanks to those who are still reading this. I don't know how long it will take for me to put another chapter up but I'll see what I can do.


	12. Chapter 12

Saya woke up to something she seriously hadn't been expecting; banging on the hotel room door.

In an instant she was out of the bed and on the floor, crouched down and scanning the room.

Though her brain knew that the fight against Diva was now over, her body _also _remembered that the battle against _chiropterans_ wasn't; so it was just as alert as always.

Haji was in-between her and the door, his clawed hand raised, and she noticed that Riku had decided to stay as well, her little brother now running over to her.

"Saya!" He spoke loudly, a light tinge of fear in his voice.

She stood up, no immediate threat present, and walked over to Haji's cello case, opening it momentarily to take her sword out before closing the lid once again.

"Riku, go hide please." She spoke to him, trying to keep her voice from sounding harsh.

He hesitated though and when Saya looked at him again he seemed different than she remembered.

"Saya, I want to stay here and help you." Riku said with fear once again in his voice, but with something else present as well.

She felt her eyes widen slightly at his decision but soon regained her composure.

"Riku, you can't- I need you to stay safe."

"But I'm your _chevalier _now, right? I can't just go run and hide anymore! I- I have to stay and help you!"

The door of the room was starting to crack and as much as Saya wished they could just sit down and talk about this there simply wasn't enough time.

Just as she was going to speak again, however, she heard Diva wake up and remembered that she was here.

"She must be who they're after!" Saya thought, surprised she hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Riku, I need you to protect Diva then."

He took a step backwards, his face showing more fear.

"Please, Riku. I think those people are here for _her_. I need you to protect her for me okay?" Saya asked him softly, despite the situation.

A few seconds later his face grew sterner, still not looking very resolute, but he nodded.

Saya nodded herself and then looked back towards the door.

"You should go into the bathroom and lock the door." She said as one of the metal pins in the hinges was sent flying off into the air, breaking a mirror in the room.

"Saya!" Diva called out her name in fright, causing her to once again stray her sight from the door.

"It's okay, Diva, you'll be fine. We won't let them get to you."

Her little sister shook her head widely before haphazardly hopping off the bed and holding onto Saya.

"I'm not worried about _me_! I don't want you to get hurt!"

Once again Saya was surprised but then she felt a small smile make its way onto her face.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. We haven't had dinner yet after all." She spoke, trying to make Diva feel a bit better.

It worked enough for her sister to give a small upset nod before her grip loosened and she and Riku ran back into the bathroom, the sound of the lock drowned out by the breaking of the door.

"Saya, these people are humans." Haji told her silently.

She nodded.

"I know. But so is Diva now."

"You will be able to fight them then?"

Saya pulled the sword out of the sheath, the blunt end of the sword aimed outwards as opposed to sharp one.

"Yes."

There were a few moments of silence between them before the door was broken down and several people who she assumed were members of the Red Shield charged into the room.

* * *

Only a few seconds after Riku turned the lock, he heard the door to the hotel room break in and Diva covered her head with her hands.

She was already in the bathtub sitting down and curled up but it really seemed like she was scared.

"Though I am too." Riku thought to himself as he walked over to the bathtub.

He still didn't feel comfortable being close to Diva, after what had happened, but Saya had asked him to protect her sister so he would.

Diva looked up at him, her eyes full of worry more than fear, and Riku knew she had changed. Not _externally_ maybe, but on the inside.

"Um, I'm sure Saya will be okay. Haji's there too, and he wouldn't let anything happen to her." He spoke, trying to make her feel better.

She nodded, much like she had when Saya told her that everyone would be okay.

"Thanks." Diva managed out before digging her back underneath her arms.

Riku smiled nervously when he realized he hadn't helped much and looked back towards the door.

There were still sounds of fighting and as much as he wanted to go outside and see how Saya and Haji were faring he knew he had to stay here and protect Diva if anyone got into the bathroom.

"Anyway, I haven't heard either of them get hurt, so I'm sure they're fine." Riku thought to himself, not noticing he'd thought out loud.

As he did however, Riku looked over his shoulder, seeing Diva's blue eyes peering out at him in curiosity.

His gaze scrambled around, trying to find something to focus on so he wouldn't feel so embarrassed.

Eventually he gave up and turned back towards her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to think that out loud." He apologized with a nervous smile.

Her eyes blinked but that's all the response she gave and he started to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Uhh. I- um…." He for some reason couldn't form a cohesive sentence.

Through her "walls"; her legs, he could see her worried frown turn upwards and turn into a mildly amused expression.

"You're funny." She remarked softly.

He scratched his head, his cheeks turning pink as he tried to make himself invisible.

"You think so?"

She purred a confirmation, something that despite her nature still surprised him.

"Cute too." Diva added, her smile widening as she stood up and got out of the bathtub.

Riku backed up towards the door, feeling strange and somewhat afraid again more than embarrassed.

"What am I going to do?" He thought to himself while almost tripping over a bathroom mat.

"I can't just shove her away. She's a girl. Oh, never mind. I couldn't do that _anyway_." Riku continued, perplexed.

Just as her arms started to lift, reaching for him, his back collided with the bathroom door and he ran out of space to retreat to.

He unlocked the door and scrambled for the handle but remembered he couldn't leave yet; not before Saya told him he could.

Nevertheless, his feet kept pushing against the floor; as if begging it to give them more space.

Diva reached him and his eyes widened as her face got closer-

Then the bathroom door opened and his vision spun upwards; feeling like he was on a vertical tire-swing that was going too fast.

His back collided with the floor and it surprised Riku how it hadn't really hurt, despite how loud his landing was.

"Riku it's okay-" Saya stopped her sentence short when she realized that both he and Diva were on the floor together.

Evidently she _also _noticed how embarrassed and nervous he was, on account of his face being "washed red".

"Diva, what are you doing?!" She spoke loudly, surprised at how quickly her sister had gotten out of control in such a short time.

He felt Diva's face look up at Saya; his eyes unable to tell what her expression was because they were shut tighter than a bulkhead door.

"Hugging." She spoke innocently.

His eyes re-opened even though he was still nervous when he realized that's all she had been trying to do.

Saya seemed relieved as well and sighed.

"Oh, well you know you're only supposed to do that if the other person wants to _also _right?"

Diva shrugged before looking back down at Riku, causing his head to push back against the floor.

"You wanted to. Right Riku?" She asked, gazing at him again with her wide, barely-blinking eyes.

"Um…yeah…" He managed to stumble out.

She nodded and nuzzled against him, making Riku feel like his face was the color of the inside of a watermelon.

"Maybe I'll just sleep her tonight-" She began before Saya spoke up in a strangely loud tone.

"Hey, Riku, could you go tell Joel what happened for me please? I'm sure he would like to know about this if he hasn't heard about it already."

"Hey!" Diva started; the beginning of a pout.

"Sure." He responded too quickly.

"Awww. Et tu Riku?" Her whining was cut off as she began giggling at how ridiculous her last sentence sounded and got off him.

He sighed in relief and stood up, trying to push any wrinkles out of his clothes while walking towards the door, still beat red.

* * *

Finally an update for this story. Sorry for it taking so long. I'm really going to try and work on this story as much as possible to make up for the absence of chapters for these past months. Also, I've never wrote Riku's perspective before so I'm not sure how well I did. Please tell me if it was done decently, and if there was anything I could have done to make it more like his character.


	13. Chapter 13

"So Saya, where are we going?" Diva asked her sister as they walked down the hall, towards where she had met Joel before. Hopefully he would be able to do something that could ensure Diva's health.

"We're going to see Joel."

Diva stopped walking and caused both Saya and Haji to stop as well.

"Joel?" She asked in a strangely upset tone.

Saya nodded her head.

"Yes. Joel- oh, no. He isn't the same person. It's one of his descendants."

Diva nodded and began walking with them again.

She'd forgotten how much Diva hated and feared the original Joel Goldschmidt. Saya had fond memories of him so it was hard for her to remember that anyone could dislike him so much.

In any case they had to get to that meeting room as quickly as possible. There was no telling when more of them might come, or when the ones she and Haji had defeated would wake up.

Saya had made sure none of them were dead and, even though she knew they were trying to kill her sister, had been glad no one would be permanently injured.

After all, it wasn't as if everyone in the world could forgive a person who had killed many people and was responsible for the deaths of many others just because they had changed.

"Like Kai?" She wondered.

Instantly Saya regretted thinking such a thing.

He had been rude to say the least, but it wasn't as if she couldn't understand his reasons. It would take time that was all.

It wasn't as if she had actually _succeeded _in killing Riku, just…_tried _to…

Saya sighed.

"This may take a while." She thought.

"Saya, what's wrong?" Diva asked her from behind.

She just shook her head.

"Oh, don't worry about it Diva. Let's just hurry to Joel's office."

The hotel was hard to find your way around in, and if she hadn't already gone this way before Saya was sure she would never find the place.

They reached a corner and turned it-

-coming face-to-face with Kai.

"Saya? What's going on?" He asked her, apparently having learned about what happened in their room somehow. Though it was quite possible he just heard the fight.

However, before she could answer he noticed that Riku wasn't with them.

"Hey, where's Riku?"

"He went ahead to tell Joel what happened."

He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Was it?..." He asked while glancing over her shoulder at Diva, who waved back.

Saya shook her head.

"No. A group of people attacked us and we have to go tell Joel and see if he can help us."

"Are you hurt?"

She smiled and shook her head again.

"No. Don't worry about me."

He smiled at her, seeming to have momentarily forgotten about Diva.

"Well that's good. Were they Chiropterans or something?"

"No. They were humans."

Kai's smile turned into a frown as his hand fell away and he backed up.

"Humans? Why?"

This was going to be the tough part.

"Actually… they were after Diva."

His expression hardened.

"I see. Guess we should have expected that."

Saya agreed with him.

"Yes. I let my guard down. I never thought anyone would attack us when we were in a place like this.

"So are they…"

"No. I just knocked them out. But that means they could come after us at any time."

Kai's face hardened again, though this time it seemed more stern than irritated.

"You're right."

He stepped towards her and Saya actually backed up, staring at his face which had gone from rock-hard to wide-eyed.

"Saya…" He spoke in almost a gasp, looking down near her waist.

She followed his gaze down and saw that her hand gone to the hilt of her sword, and instantly brought it away.

"Oh, Kai. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

He swallowed and then looked away a bit.

"Don't worry about it. To be honest, if we weren't related and I didn't know you, I probably would have been _in _the group. You've got every right to be cautious."

She wanted to say something to resolve this, but couldn't think of the right words.

"Go on ahead." He told her, breaking her search for what to say.

Kai reached behind his back, underneath his over-shirt, and took hold of something. A second later he pulled their father's gun out from behind his back and checked to make sure the clip was full and that there was a bullet in the chamber.

"I'll go see what's up. Just keep heading to where Joel is."

"But Kai-"

He head-butted her and made her forehead hurt; softened from all the times he'd done so before.

Kai kept his head near hers and spoke to her in a whisper.

"Don't worry. Just let me take care of it. I'll catch up after I check it out. They won't come after me."

He took Saya's silence as an understanding and then passed her and ran past the corner and back the way the three of them had come.

She whispered "be safe" and then they started down the hall again, this time at a quicker pace.

There was just an elevator's ride and a few more hallways until they reached Joel's meeting place and she wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

"Saya?" Diva inquired as they reached the elevator.

She pressed one of the arrow buttons and waited as she heard the elevator begin to ascend to their floor.

"What is it, Diva?"

"Why does Kai hate me so much?"

Saya was surprised at the timing of her question, but then remembered what he said about how he would have been part of the group that went after her.

"When we were at 'The Zoo' the last time, when you…met Riku for the _first_ time."

She could almost feel a change in temperature as Diva realized what she meant.

"Oh… right. I remember now."

The seconds seemed to drag on and Saya wondered to herself how they could take so long to get from one floor to another. Though it was really just to distract her from how upset Diva was.

Then the gloom disappeared.

"I'll just apologize next time then!" Diva concluded loudly.

She shushed her sister before replying.

"I don't think that would work. It's not the kind of thing you just apologize for."

Diva began to pout and Saya was wondering if her sister even knew what the word "subtle" _meant_. There were dozens, quite possibly _hundreds _of people who wanted to kill her for what she'd done in her "previous life". Yet it wasn't something she was willing to stay quiet for.

"Why noooot?!"

Saya sighed.

"What would you say? 'Sorry I almost killed your little brother? Let's kiss and make up.'?"

Diva thought about it for a second.

"Yes. Especially the second part."

Saya put a hand to her head.

"Ugh. Just wait. And please don't kiss Kai."

"No promises." She teased, furthering Saya's stress level.

She was implying some form of complicated and semi-unrelated incest that was too advanced and disturbing a process for Saya to contemplate right now.

The elevator finally arrived and she was surprised to see both David and Luis inside… David hiding his trademark revolver behind his back as he saw them.

"Saya." He spoke simply.

"What is it?" She asked him, making sure she was in-between him and Diva.

"We were hoping you could tell _us_. The two of us were downstairs when we heard that something was happening on this floor. So we came to see what going on."

"A group of people came and attacked our hotel room."

He didn't respond.

"They were after Diva."

"Humans?"

She felt her hands tighten.

"Yes."

"I see."

"We're on our way up to the meeting room to speak with Joel about it."

"What happened in the hotel room? Did Diva do anything?"

Saya took a step forward into the elevator.

"Yes. She went and hid, like most humans _do_."

"So Diva didn't' kill them?" He asked, no tone of emotion in his voice.

She, however, couldn't remain so emotionless and felt herself becoming more agitated with every sentence.

"No. I knocked them out with the back of my sword while she was _hiding _in the _bathroom_."

"I see." He put his gun back in the holster in his jacket.

"Where is Kai?"

Her knuckles loosened.

"He went to the hotel room to check." She spoke, relieved that they wouldn't have to have another talk about Diva.

David nodded and then looked back at Luis.

"Gotcha." He said in response to David's quiet statement, the tiny spark of seriousness that might have glinted through his Jamaican accent snuffed out when he began eating fruit snacks at the end of the sentence.

Then David ran out of the elevator and down the hall the three of them had come from.

"He is going to go check on Kai." Luis told them while stuffing the food bag into a pocket.

"Come on now, hurry. We should get up to Joel's room as soon as we can."

Saya knew she could trust Luis and David; like Kai, they would just take a while to trust Diva. Though she sustpected Luis was already well on his way to getting over it, if not already finished.

Still, they had been on a mission with the sole purpose of killing Diva for years on end now; she couldn't just expect them to blink it all away.

She nodded and the three of them got in the elevator.

Luis inserted a key into a slot on the control panel in the elevator, which caused the doors to shut immediately and the elevator began riding up through the shaft at a noticeably quicker pace than usual.

No one talked as the elevator continued its ascent, but Diva held onto Saya's arm the whole way.

She would have smiled if she wasn't so tense.

There was a loud ding as the elevator opened up and revealed a lavish room with red-paneled walls and black marble floors.

A set of double-doors was opposite the elevator and looked as if they themselves had been a cherished family heirloom by the craft of them.

Two end-tables stood on both sides and each held a vase which appeared to cost more than a whole floor of the hotel.

Of course, this was only the hall _before _Joel's room.

When they walked across it and Luis opened the doors, a large room with a big soft carpet, cozy walls and a few simple yet pronounced decorations awaited on the other side.

Another door was in one of the corners, though there was only a single one.

To the right was an ornately-crafted desk with an expensive-looking laptop on it.

The most important and eye-drawing object in the room, however, was a large glistening red shield made of some kind of crimson diamond which hung above the desk and the chair behind it.

All the members of the Red Shield had a small similarly-looking piece in one form or another. But for something to be that large… there would have had to have been _thousands _of people in that. Saya hadn't really noticed its significance before since she was so focused on getting Joel to believe her story.

But then her attention was drawn below the shield to the man behind the organization it represented; the head of the Goldschmidt family; Joel Goldschmidt VI.

Come to think of it, he was the complete opposite of what you would expect the head of a military-esque organization to be like.

"Saya, I'm happy to see you again so soon." He told her as she walked through the doorway.

"Though I wish it could have been under better circumstances." He said with a smile.

Saya felt her spirits uplifted with his calm positive way of conversing. It always made her feel better.

"So do I." She said, feeling serious but unable to show it through her now-happy-looking face.

"Riku is in the other room. I believe he is trying to calm down. He was beat red when he came in here." A warm humor was in his voice when he said the last sentence.

Saya walked over towards one of the chairs in front of Joel's desk and sat in it. She set her sword down next to her and saw Diva hiding behind Haji as they walked into the room as well.

As Joel regarded them Saya didn't know what she expected. A look of disgust was something she could never expect him to have, but she didn't exactly expect him to start jumping up and down in excitement either.

In the end, when he saw Diva virtually cowering behind Haji's tall but thin form his expression didn't change at all.

"Diva, please sit. I need to speak with you as well."

Both of them were surprised at his offer but Diva was still reluctant to come over to him.

"Diva, it's okay." She promised her sister.

Diva looked at her for a few seconds then nodded and made her way over to the chair adjacent to Saya's own.

Luis closed the double doors and then sat down in a chair on the other side of the room, pulling out a candy bar as he did so.

Haji stood behind Saya's and Diva's chairs without a sound.

"Now then, where should I begin?"


	14. Chapter 14

"But that…" Saya spoke in a whisper after she'd heard Joel's plan.

It was a very _good _plan, or at least it would do what he said it should.

They were to take the elevator down to the second basement of the hotel, one that had been designed as a sort of bunker should the building ever come under attack.

From there, they would make their way through it until they reached, cliché as it may be, an escape tunnel.

The tunnel led directly to the city sewers, which they could take to virtually any street in the whole city. That way they couldn't be tracked.

However, there was no way of knowing that there weren't _already _enemies down there.

Though the majority of the people who had "defected" from the Red Shield cause and now simply wanted to kill Diva were mostly unknowns a _few _of them seemed to have come from _within _the Red Shield organization.

And some of the more higher-ranking members had apparently not contacted Joel since Diva's presence in the building had become common knowledge.

Which meant that anyone who might have so much as over_heard_ a mention of the second basement could know what they were up to.

"Still," Saya thought.

", we don't have much of a choice."

"So, Saya, what do you think?" Joel asked her, still holding that confident, happy smile he usually did.

"It sounds like a good plan." She managed to say before her mind could go into a full mental debate.

Though Riku had come back into the room, there was still a certain uneasy feeling and silence that occupied every second where they weren't in active conversation.

"Diva?" Joel asked her little sister with a still-startling lack of hate.

She bit her lip in nervous thought and despite the situation, the way in which Diva acted made Saya want to chuckle a bit.

"The sewer-places sound icky. But…sure."

Joel, as if being Saya's avatar, chuckled at her mention of the word "icky".

"Well, hopefully they won't be that…ha…icky."

Diva blushed, having her funny word repeated.

Saya smiled and put her hand though Diva's hair to try and make her feel better.

In response, like a cat, she pushed her head against Saya's hand and rubbed against it in attempt to make the "petting" continue.

As Saya began to chuckle herself though, they all heard the elevator in the other room arrive and Luis picked up his gun while shoving the remains of his latest snack into his mouth.

Riku just stared at the door as it opened.

When they all saw who they were there was an unspoken collective sigh; Kai and David came through the doorway.

"We should get going." David said in his usual stern-but-calm manner.

"Those guys ya knocked out are up and tussling again. They'll be here in a few minutes." Kai added in a much blunter way.

Diva moved herself and her chair closer to Saya and she had to reassure her sister that nothing would happen to her.

"It's okay, remember, we're going to get out of here."

Her little sister nodded but didn't move away.

"Sir, we're going down to the second basement, correct?" David inquired, surprising Saya at how he instantly knew what the plan was.

Joel nodded and got up out of his chair, walking around the desk

Kai walked over to Riku and put his hand on his little brother's shoulder, eliciting a nod from the boy as well and everyone moved out of the room and into the second one.

However, David stopped in the doorway and looked back at the literal Red Shield on the wall.

Saya imagined that many of his friends and his father were part of it, she could understand his reluctance to leave it behind.

"Don't worry, David. We'll come back some day soon and it will still be there." Joel assured him.

"Yes, sir." He responded before closing the doors to the office behind him and walking over to the elevator, where everyone else was.

Lewis gazed at the monitor within the elevator panel, apparently it was a view of the inside of the elevator wherever it was; so that they could tell if someone was in there.

She could see that there wasn't and Lewis told them it was empty before pushing the button that would ascend the elevator to their floor.

"Sir, I've already called. They should be there by the time we arrive."

"Who should be where?" Riku inquired, before having an arm attacked by one of Diva's unusually intimate hugs, causing him to turn pink, Kai's fist to clench, and Saya to worry about what would happen.

Thankfully, Joel broke the uncomfortable situation by replying in an amused voice.

"Red Shield headquarters. We'll take the sewers to a pier where we'll exit them and get on the yacht, then sail away into the sunset and live happily ever after. Hopefully anyway."

"How do you know there won't be any of those defecto-guys on the boat?" Kai asked, still in a bad mood for Diva being so close to Riku.

"Except for David and Lewis, the Red Shield members on the boat are the most loyal to my family, if I don't want Diva to be harmed, they won't try to hurt her. Of course, it would still be a good idea if we put all of them through a lie-detector test just to make sure."

The elevator arrived and they all got inside. Thankfully it was a large elevator, so Kai was far enough away from Diva that Saya didn't worry...too much.

She sighed internally, wondering if it was okay for him to be around her like this after such a short amount of time had passed since she came here.

"The sooner we get moving the better." She thought.

* * *

"Yay!" She thought happily while hugging Riku's arm.

This whole "crazy murder people" thing was worth being able to be around her little Riku this much.

Kai still seemed to be a bit upset but that was okay, she liked snuggling up with Riku more anyway.

The elevator kept going down and down and down but it didn't matter to her, all the longer she got to nuzzle the increasingly pink boy.

Finally the elevator reached whatever floor it had been heading towards and she heard the doors beginning to move apart.

"Diva, I think you're starting to embarrass him." Diva said in a strangely-worried tone.

She just deepened the hug, rubbing her head against his shoulder now.

"But he's so cute! Like a big teddy bear only different!" The doors started to open up and she saw that it was really dark in this basement, despite how it was supposed to be a bunker.

"It makes me all happy when I get to hug him like this!"

The lights in the elevator dimmed and David explained it was just because the electricity on this floor couldn't sustain the same voltage throughout.

He and the big snack man, Lewis, exited the elevator and started to part.

"Besides, if he's supposed to be _your _brother that means he's supposed to be _mine too_-"

She saw two things splitting in half out in the room, one thing rising and one thing lowering.

"Divaaaaaaaaaa?" She heard a familiar and entirely unwelcome voice say from the constant shadows of the basement.

"No!" She screamed, finally parting from Riku only to cower in a corner of the elevator, everyone looking at her like she was crazy.

"It's horrible!" She thought while slamming her eyelids closed.

"I always look weird when I see it and no one else does!"

She felt Saya come over to her but it didn't matter, the darkness of the other room wasn't subsiding and she was too afraid to open her eyes, even with Saya here.

"Diva? What's wrong?" Her sister asked.

"It's "Smiley"." She said, trying to hint at what she was talking about instead of just saying "freaky smiling scary thing".

"Who the hell's Smiley?" Kai asked in an insensitive tone.

She opened one eye a bit and saw that Saya herself seemed to be having a hard time understanding what she was talking about.

"Aww. What's the matter? No one taking care of you? Why don't you come over here? Heheh. _I'll _keep you nice and _snug_. Hek hek hek." It cackled.

Diva grabbed Saya's shoulders so tight it actually seemed to hurt her; her sister gasping in pain.

The next thing she knew, Saya was out of her reach, she was thrown back against the back elevator wall and Kai was aiming a gun at her.

It hurt her feelings when she realized _all_ three had been Kai's doing.

"I _knew _it! You're not different at _all_!" He yelled.

"Kai! Stop it! She's just scared!" Saya said while trying to get over to her, held back by Kai's free arm.

"Yeah! Besides, we can't _do_ this right now! Kai, there're people who are trying to _kill _her!" Riku said in her defense.

But she didn't care.

He could _shoot _her and it wouldn't matter to her.

She just wanted the voice to go away.

Diva got down on all fours and grasped at his leg, but he kicked her back up against the wall and cocked the gun.

"Yeah right! I bet she just got tired of doing everything the same way all the time so she came up with this little game to keep herself _busy_!"

Riku got in front of her and she looked down at the floor, holding the bruised shoulder where Kai had kicked her. It wasn't healing.

"Oh, owee. Come on. I'll kiss it and make it all better."

"Riku, move!"

"No Kai! You've got to stop this!" He yelled back.

Though her shoulder hurt, more than that, Diva felt her whole _body _starting to feel bad; her skin tingled and she felt cold. Here and there little sensations of feeling came to her and frightened the girl out of her mind each time, like when you pack something away in a dark place and think every itch or feeling you have is a spider crawling on you…

"She's evil! She's a freaky little _monster_! Get out of the _way_!"

There was a slapping sound…

…And then the lights in the room outside the elevator turned on.

It took a few seconds, but Diva finally got the courage to gaze up and saw Kai wide-eyed and with a mark on his cheek, the gun-arm down by his side, unclenched.

Riku, breathing heavy, was holding his hand like it hurt.

Kai looked back down at Riku, and she noticed only the four of them were in the elevator right now, Saya looking as surprised as Kai.

"Riku…"

She couldn't see his expression, but it looked like the young boy was furious for reason she didn't understand.

"I don't care _what _you say Kai! She's not at all like she used to be and I wish you could just grow _up _and _accept_ that!"

Diva didn't know why, but she was surprised that Riku had gotten so upset for her.

Saya walked past Kai and Riku, helped her up, and then slowly the three of them walked out of the elevator, Kai still standing in the doorway looking where Riku had been.

She was grateful that Kai hadn't killed her and that Riku liked her now, but the only thing she really _cared _about was the fact that the thing, or "Smiley" had gone away.


	15. Chapter 15

The second basement was absolutely massive.

Some of its rooms had high ceilings but what really stood out was how _wide _they were.

And between each was a large metal door with a keypad next to it, without the right code, you wouldn't make it to the _bathroom_.

Of course, it wasn't designed for luxurious stays, that way lie upstairs. But the place was completely solid and Lewis had disabled the elevator so it wouldn't rise to any other floor.

It had taken them a few minutes simply because they wanted to give Kai a little while to get over what had happened, but eventually David had decided they couldn't wait any longer and told Kai that they needed to go.

He'd come with nothing more than an "alright" and hadn't said much of anything since then.

They must had gone through at least a _dozen _of these sturdy but boring rooms and Saya was beginning to wonder if they would _ever _get out of this basement.

Luckily for all of them, but most especially Diva, all of the lights were working and there were very few shadows due to the lack of furniture that wasn't bolted to walls. Even then, they never stayed in one place long enough for her to dwell on the dark little areas.

Saya and Riku "guarded" her sides, though Riku had since returned to his normal non-furious state.

It took a few minutes, but she seemed to be returning to normal again. Though Saya doubted Diva would be happy until they'd gotten through the sewers and onto the completely-lit ship.

She hadn't thought about it before now but, even though she and Haji had no problems with it, Diva's hearing things was definitely going to disturb the other members of their group; something they _really _didn't need right now.

All it'd take would be for anyone else to have a doubt about Diva's change in personality, and shoot her.

It was scary to think that these people she had essentially trusted her life to could potentially kill her little sister, who now most likely wouldn't hurt a mosquito.

"Saya?" Diva squeaked to her, apparently still afraid of either "Smiley" or Kai.

"What is it, Diva?" She responded just above a whisper.

"The sewers…will they be dark?"

Yet another problem she hadn't thought about.

She tried to make her sigh as quiet as possible before responding.

"Yes." Saya said, unable to say it in anything approaching a positive manner.

Instantly Diva shrank, and almost fell behind the two of them.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't _her _voice that spoke up to try and comfort Diva, but _Riku's_.

"Don't worry, Diva. We won't let anything get to you, promise." He spoke with a smile.

She nodded and her mouth turned upwards a bit, her spirits hopefully raised.

David, Joel and Lewis were all in front of them, though Joel was guarded behind the other two, while Kai was still sliding his feet along the ground quickly enough to be at the rear.

The walk through the basement continued for several more minutes, the group stopping every now and then to unlock and open this door, and close and lock that door.

All in all, it was quite boring, considering the situation they were in.

That was… until she spotted something crawl through the doorway as David slid it open.

Saya yelped in surprise when she saw the unnaturally big spider, which had stopped when it heard the noise she made.

She fought huge monsters that lived on the blood of other things and monsters that _looked _like humans. But she was still just as afraid of things like spiders and snakes as she normally would be if she _wasn't _more than a hundred years old.

David immediately asked her what was wrong even as Diva leaned down to look at the creepy thing, a smile on her face.

"This is cute." She stated while reaching for it.

Luckily for her, Saya grabbed Diva's other arm and tugged her back a safe distance from the creepy crawly thing as it skittered away on its eight hairy legs.

"Awww!" Diva let out in frustration.

David showed his dismay at how much noise they were making and told them they should hurry.

Saya apologized and pushed Diva along, embarrassed at how she had acted.

* * *

The office is made of new-but-classy wood, a carpet worth more than a house lying on the grey-marble floor in front of the large, ornate burning fireplace.

A desk sits to the side, facing the door that connects the room to one of the many halls in the building.

Behind the desk is a brown-leather chair so comfortable you could fall asleep in it, and _on _the desk lies an expensive laptop that normal people won't be able to _read _about for another five years.

A man stands in front of the fireplace, staring into the flames with cold, confident eyes.

They look as if they are searching the flames for information; something that could make the fireplace actually worth existing.

That's all that matters to the man; finding out how things work and then going on to something else, or doing the same thing with a different "control". Like one big experiment.

A knock sounds at the door and he tells the knocker to come in with his deep, but educated voice.

"Big brother," A much softer, gentler voice speaks from the doorway.

"I've just returned from the tower. It seems that no one was there."

The eyes widen slightly, as if in interest, before returning to normal.

"I see."

* * *

Sorry it was short, but I wasn't in a good "writing mode" tonight. Hopefully the next one will be longer.


	16. Chapter 16

"Icky." Diva said again as they continued to try and make their way through the sewers.

Unfortunately, there were several rats running around and small little puddles of waste here and there for them to avoid as well.

And oh yeah, the smell made her want to throw up.

Kai had tried to kill her, and there were a bunch of people she didn't know trying to do the same thing.

She had to keep her gaze firmly on the people ahead of her, otherwise they would stray away and peer into the constant shadows that threatened to overtake the dimly-lit "path" that they were using to make their way to wherever they were going.

All of this paled in comparison to one thing though; her dresses all had to be left behind!

After all that time waiting to get them, she was now stuck in a single dress again for who knew how long?

If Saya hadn't asked her to try and be as quiet as possible Diva would have stood in place and stamped around until her big sister took her to get more dresses.

"Oops." She remarked quietly, almost tripping off the ground and falling into the disgusting, murky water below.

The sewers had all the waste and garbage and smelly stuff in the middle, like a river, and the places where you could walk were on the sides.

But the stone walkways were slimy and slippery, and she could barely walk on them.

Not to mention she had no shoes on. And her feet were already cold from walking on that concrete floor of the basement.

The grossest feeling of all though was the gelatinous feel of the stone under her bare feet. It was like walking on the cold carcass of a massive dead jellyfish.

If they had bones anyway.

Of the light-bulbs that hung above them or were set into the wall that still worked, most appeared to be decades old.

Had Diva known, or cared, about light bulbs' general life spans, she probably would have noticed how strange it was for even some of them to still be working.

"Saya, are we almost there?" She asked, tired of the sweaty stone, the smell, and just the plain traveling that they were going through by walking in these sewers.

"Shh. Diva, you have to be quiet." Her elder sister said just above a whisper.

"But why? There's no one following us. That big guy made the elevator stop moving so they can't get here. And with those super-doors-"

"It's not that, Diva. Many of the people that are helping us are still struggling over how they feel towards you. We don't want to upset them right now."

She gave a silent pout.

Why should_ she_ be quiet because _they _were having problems? That wasn't fair.

"But I don't _want _to be quiet-"

Diva was unable to continue as a result of her voice getting stuck in her throat when all of the lights that lit their path suddenly snapped off.

She virtually leapt into Saya and almost sent the both of them down into the filthy stream of waste.

"That's strange." David remarked as they temporarily came to a complete stop.

"Do you think perhaps there was some sort of blackout?" Lewis offered.

Saya was holding onto her, but she still didn't feel any safer.

"I'm not sure. But it seems too convenient for us to simply ignore it." He said, pulling out and turning on a flashlight.

She wanted to leap in front of the beam of light, but Saya held her back as they once again continued down the path, though this time at a significantly quicker pace.

Diva wasn't sure about why the lights had suddenly turned off, and she didn't _care _either.

Why hadn't it shown up though? She didn't want it to, but the fact that she had to wonder when its eerie voice would speak up was making her all the more scared.

"You don't think those people have made it into the sewers?" Saya asked, worried.

Once again he said that he wasn't sure.

"But even if they have made it down into the second basement, it will still take them some time to get into the sewers. And it will be just as hard for them to run around in the dark as it is for us. Even more so if they're in a big group."

"And what if they already have people up ahead of us?" Kai asked, his first major attempt at speech since they were in the elevator.

No one really said anything for a few seconds.

"Well, we can handle a few of them. But it would be best if we could avoid any confrontation. We really aren't equipped for any significant battles right now. Not to mention these are educated, thinking people. Before the only intelligent enemies we would ever face were chevaliers. And if they have guns Haji is the only real factor we can rely on due to his resistance to damage."

"But I'm Saya's chevalier too, right?" Riku asked David.

She'd actually forgotten he was with them, since it was dark now and she couldn't really see anyone but Saya and David due to Saya being closer to her and David being the person closest to the light.

"You can't take that chance right now, Riku. You are not yet qualified to take an active role in protecting Saya." David responded rather bluntly.

She could hear his disappointment and would gone over and nuzzled him against her if she had the nerve to.

"But…" He began, unable to form a full sentence.

"Do not worry, Riku. In time you will become stronger. However, right now I think it is best that you allow me to do the fighting." Haji offered him, trying to make the boy feel better.

But, like with Diva being left alone, it didn't seem to make him feel any better.

It was weird, she could almost feel what he felt.

Of course, the fact that they were discussing how to protect Saya, and not her, made _herself _upset.

But Saya would still keep her safe, she knew that.

"Saya cares about me, even if the others don't." Diva thought to herself.

Still, she wished that she could still make chevaliers. It would make her feel better knowing there was someone who had to wish for her safety.

"I wonder how Solomon and everyone else are doing." She continued to wonder.

Now that she was human, would they still care about her? Would they try to kill Saya for turning her into a human?

She didn't know, but hoped that no one would hurt Saya. Just because her big sister would survive anything that harmed here didn't mean it wouldn't still hurt.

"Diva? Are you okay?" Saya asked her.

Though her sister probably couldn't see it, she nodded.

"Mhm."

"Have you had any…problems?"

She didn't understand what Saya meant at first, but soon put it together.

"No. Not yet."

But that was what really bothered her.

_Why _hadn't it shown up?

Was it gone now? Or was it just waiting until she was alone?

* * *

Saya knew something was bothering Diva, but she didn't know what.

Of course, there were plenty of reasons for her to be afraid; having dozens or possibly hundreds of people who wanted her dead, depending on people who quite possibly wanted the same thing, and a mysterious voice or creature that terrorized her every time she was in the darkness ranked up there.

But if she wasn't afraid of the people, and the monster or whatever it was hadn't shown up or began speaking to her, then why was she so upset?

Saya would have liked to simply sit or lie down with her little sister and her what was wrong, but this wasn't the time and _certainly _not the _place _to do that.

"David, do you know if we are close to the pier?" She asked, trying to keep her voice somewhat quiet so that it at the very least wouldn't echo.

He was the only one with a flashlight, so it was possible to make out his form running ahead of them.

"I can't tell yet. But I'm sure we are heading in the right direction. At the rate we're going, we should be there in a few minutes. The pier is not very far from the hotel, since it's near the waterfront."

That was a relief of sorts.

The quicker they could get out of these dark, dank sewers, the sooner they, but most especially Diva, would be able to calm down.

Riku's commitment towards trying to become a better chevalier was also a problem, as she knew that no matter how physically strong his new body would make him, he really didn't have it in him to fight like she and Haji did.

And was Kai really over trying to kill Diva? Or was he just holding back for now? She trusted him to stay away from her while they were both in the same room, but what if they were separated and Kai was alone with Diva?

There were quite a few things for her to think about as they ran through the sewers. And soon she wasn't even paying attention to the subterranean trip as her body carried both her and Diva along the walkways.

A whirlwind of thoughts were fighting against each other to be at the eye of the storm; of her attention.

Before she knew it, the sewers themselves has disappeared and in front of them stood a large grate.

The waste from either the sewer or the pier came in or out of it, and the thing looked solidly affixed to the walls.

It would be difficult, even for a chevalier, to get it open.

Of course… they were fortunate enough for there to be a service entrance that they could use, so that wouldn't be necessary.

However, there was a lock in the door which David had to stop to "work" on, but she hadn't heard any footsteps other than theirs and still didn't hear any now, so there was no rush.

The fact that they hadn't come across any working lights after the initial "mega blackout" suggested that whoever had come after Diva knew where they escaped to.

That lights from the streets above could be seen shining through the sewer-grates also seemed to say that the sudden failure of the sewers' light were not simply a coincidence, as they had all expected it wasn't.

A loud click was heard as David succeeded in picking the lock on the service door, and he pushed it open while drawing out his revolver.

The seemingly-bright lights of Red Shield headquarters' light seemed to contrast the blackness of the sewers more than the sun contrasted the dark side of the moon as Lewis, David and Joel exited the sewers.

She began walking through the doorway herself when Diva suddenly stopped walking, causing Saya to look over at her.

Though it was now hard to see since her eyes had been exposed to light once again, she could tell that her little sister was trying to ignore something.

But she didn't get the chance to ask what the problem was before they were both pushed out through the doorway, loosing their footing and falling face-first on the cement outside.

She heard Riku call out her name as he ran over to them and tried to help her up.

"Are you two okay?' He asked.

"I'm fine." Saya told him, looking back down at Diva, who had returned to normal somewhat.

She at least didn't seem to be hearing anything anymore, and nodded as she was helped up.

"What happened?" Saya asked him, looking back into the doorway as both Kai and Haji came out.

Riku shook his head before saying he didn't know.

"What happened to the back of your shirt?" He asked.

Now that he mentioned it, her back _did _feel a bit chilly.

"What do you mean?" She asked him, obviously not in a position to examine it herself.

"It's torn. Like someone grabbed it."

She blinked, trying not to show how surprised she was.

Diva had heard that monster or whatever it was from time to time for quite a while now.

But Saya herself had never seen any physical evidence that there was in fact an actual monster.

"Oh, don't worry. It must have just gotten torn when we fell. It's no big deal." She responded, trying to sound cheerful.

"It's no big deal." She repeated to herself.


End file.
